Monday Musings - September 12, 2016

Sunset in the Sky
September 11, 2016

1. It is the second week of September already. Unbelievable.

2. I played golf at Eisenhower Golf Course yesterday and enjoyed teeing off just after dawn. I also enjoyed the fast 3 hour 30 minute round. I also enjoyed making birdie on a par 5.

3. Chris and I went for a walk last evening and were treated to a beautiful sunset sky. It was fun to walk and watch the sunset deepen and the stars come out.

4. Our family celebrated opening Sunday of the NFL by gathering for a great party. Riordin was excited about the party as well, he decided to guard the Doritos. 

5. The Orioles had a good weekend and remain in the hunt to win the AL East Division. They remain only two games out of first place and are currently tied for the first wild card position. There are 20 games left to play.

Standings After Games of September 11, 2016
From MLB.com

Chewbacca

6. We took Thursday's happy hour on the road and made Chewbacca, Patrick's dog, very happy.

7. I thought that the 9/11 observations were very tasteful. It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years.

8. There are a number of good movies that seem to be hitting the theaters right now. I want to see Sully and Pete's Dragon--yea I'm a sucker for a boy meets dragon story.

9. With the arrival of Autumn on the horizon, the pace of life will significantly change.

10. September baseball decides which teams will be playing late in October for a chance to be World Series Champions.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday Sports and Events

It was hot here yesterday. The stress index was over 100 degrees and the actual temperature climbed to 96 degrees.

Jax #8 Ready for the Play

Football happened, the deconstruction of the unused swing-set in the back yard happened, and time in the pool happened.

Life continued despite the heat. We just took it easy and drank lots of liquids. 

Washer Motor

Jax's football team finally scored, in their third game of the season, but sadly still fell to defeat 12-6. The other team had one play that the boys just couldn't seem to stop reliably. 

In other action, Chris and I decided to dismantle the swing-set which had been unused. As we were deconstructing it, we realized that it was definitely at end of life.  Now the pile remains in the yard waiting for a trip to the landfill.

Did I mention that I wasted  another four hours on the washing machine? I believe the problem is in the wiring and I have ordered a new wiring harness. After that the washer is declared dead and we will replace it!

A busy Saturday. Right now, I am heading to the golf course to relieve some of yesterday's stress!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Football Arrives

With the game between the Broncos and the Panthers on Thursday night, the NFL returned and moved back onto my weekend calendar threatening to push aside all of the wholesome things I used to do on a quiet Sunday afternoon.


Our family is a huge NFL family with many different teams being represented as fan favorites. A quick survey finds that members of the clan root for the following teams:

Baltimore Ravens
Dallas Cowboys
Pittsburgh Steelers
Washington Redskins
Denver Broncos
Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Giants

A true mixture of rivalries. 

I wish that football would wait until the baseball season is over, but that seems unlikely since baseball continues until October. And then the NHL (yes Hockey) season gets going. 

We have a robust family Fantasy Football League and we are all vying to be the League Champion! I guess it is just that time of year where the collision of the sports teams happens. 

And this is just week 1. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Reflections of Summer

As school is back in session and the kids have lost their summertime freedom, Ethan, my grandson, made the following observation:

"We don't realize that we should treasure every day of summer because too soon it is gone and all we have left are the memories."

That was deep--very deep.

Be in the moment and enjoy the moment.

I spent a lot of time yesterday getting my pool ready to close for the season. I could feel summer slipping away even though the temperature was in the 90s. 

But I was fully enjoying my work on the pool because I know that in a few very short weeks, the cover will be on and the fun will be over.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Losing the Light

Chops on the Grill
September 7, 2016

I went out to my grill last evening and fired it up to prepare dinner. It was after 7PM and I was amazed at how dark it had become. It was too dark to cook. Fortunately, I have a grill light that was ready to pierce the darkness and illuminate the cooking surface.

I looked at the evening as it was falling and realized that it only happens sooner every night from here. Each successive day is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds shorter right now. Sunset tonight, in the Baltimore area, will occur about 7:25 PM. Just a short month ago, sunset occurred at 8:10 PM.

All I know is that I had to turn the light on to see the meat on the grill. Of course, there were some rainclouds in the area that provided a short shower a while later. It was dark and that made me sad. The light of summer is fast fading.

I need to grill as much as possible right now because too soon I will be standing outside in the dark wrapped up in a heavy coat grilling as the snow flakes blow past my face.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Clawing Back into the Race

Standings as of the games played on September 6, 2016
From MLB.Com

It is the closest division in all of major league baseball--the american League Eastern Division. Three teams are within one game. Two are tied for the lead and the Orioles, after a poor showing during August, are poised just one game out of first place.

It is September baseball. 


The smallest lead in any of the other five MLB Divisions is 4 games--but the AL East is a true fight between the Bluejays, the Red Sox, and the Orioles. There are 24 games left to play in the regular season and now it seems that every game is just a little bit more important. And the team whose name shall remain unspoken is just 4.5 games off the pace, too--something added to make it interesting.

The push for the playoffs is underway.

This is the time when the 162 game season gets serious for teams still in contention.

Let's Go O's!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Three-day Weekends

Holiday weekends are a great change of pace. I enjoy having a Monday off--until I get to work on Tuesday and realize that I what backed up over the three-day weekend.

I especially enjoy the idea of being able to head off somewhere, like to the beach, for a quick weekend away, or to complete a larger than normal project around the house. 


The season of holidays is upon us. During the next four and a half  months, we will celebrate seven of the ten Federal holidays. I have a feeling, for instance, that a new and better fire pit will be my Columbus Day project. It will be October then and there will be many opportunities for its use immediately after it is built. 

I do miss going to the beach. I only had about one day of beach time this year--it that. Amazing for a beach lover. I am glad, however, that we did not go to the beach for Labor Day this year because of the tropical storm that sat off the coast. And I got to help with a remodeling project which took a lot of time and creativity.

Well, Labor Day is over and it is back to work and getting into the rhythm of September. Too soon it will be October.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - September 5, 2016

1. Happy Labor Day!

Jeremy and Mike as the Flooring
Begins to be Laid

2. We turned out to be geniuses by not planning a beach vacation for this Labor Day. Tropical Storm Hermine has been keeping many beaches closed and providing for less that beach fun weather.

At the End of the Day
Still more to do

3. Laying flooring is a hard and long job. the weekend has been mostly devoted to getting a flooring project done for Nicole and Mike. 

4. Makayla was tired last evening on the ride home. She fell asleep on my arm. Fortunately, Chris was driving.

5. Interesting problems associated with the President's arrival in China. The New York Times reports that the Chinese and the Americans disagreed about many things related to the arrival and both countries get a black-eye in the incident. 

6. More people prefer printed books to electronic books! Yay. I'm not weird. 

Makayla Sleeping on my Arm

7. The Orioles are clawing their way back into the AL East Division race. They fell to three games out of first place yesterday, but did win the series from the team whose name shall remain unspoken from up north.

8. The swirl around Colin Kaepernick's protest bothers me. I support his right to protest, I do not approve of the widespread media coverage. The media has again created news rather than reporting news.

9. The weather is going to get hot again this week! Yay! 

10. I enjoyed three relaxing mornings this weekend. Two of them included sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee reading the newspaper. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Football Arrives

Jax (#8) On the Ball Carrier

It was hard to believe, but it was already the second game of the season for Jax's youth football team.

Jax after the Game

I hate to admit it, but it was a beautiful September afternoon on a local football field which was clearly built for the home team while the visiting team had to sit in the weeds around the other side. 

It was, sadly, another blow-out for the boys from GORC. They lost 31-0 and have now scored a total of 0 in their two games and given up over 60 points.

But they are learning the game and they have good attitudes. The coaches are doing a great job with all of the raw talent they have on the team.

Jax did make a highlight worthy play. He hit the opposing quarterback just as he released the ball for an attempted pass. The ball fell harmlessly to the ground. Jax got a defensive sticker for the play!

If they are playing football, it must be September!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

September Morning

Sitting on the back deck this morning with the temperature in the upper 60's, I had to accept that September had arrived. I have been in denial.

September Arriving

Although the leaves still retain the vibrant green of summer, the breeze was blowing many of them down into my pool--which prompted the question, "When are we going to close the pool?"

I hate that part of September--closing the pool.

Even though the pool still looks like summer, autumn is creeping closer to steal away the sun, the warmth, and then the leaves.

The pool is still open and the water is warm. The air, however, is cool.

It was a great summer and the thought of its passing makes me sad. But there are many joys in the memories.

The circle of life continues.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD