Category: Life

Posted in Home improvement, Life

Some sad-looking sod finds a home

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I needed 25 square feet of sod to patch a place in the backyard where we had a sandbox for the grandkids when they were younger. The sandbox hadn’t gotten much action in the past year, so I tore it out, spread out the sand where the yard needed some leveling, and tossed out the wood from the box and lid.

I was certain that our Home Depot got a delivery of sod every Saturday morning, so I had no doubt I could pick up some nice pieces of grass. I was so wrong.

When I arrived, there were hardly any pieces under the big “Sod” sign. A woman driving a red Jeep Gladiator was picking through some pieces, rejecting most and having a Home Depot guy put some in her truck.

I carefully surveyed the scene. I saw enough sod for my project. I only needed twelve pieces, so I went to the cashier for my purchase. I said, “I thought you got new sod on Saturdays.”

He replied, “No, the truck comes every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“No problem. I saw enough out there. I need twelve pieces.” He rung up my sale and I pulled my van around to the pile of picked over sod.

The remaining sod was a little yellow around the edges, a bit dry, and broken apart. But I found twelve acceptable pieces to load up. When I got to the last piece, another man stepped up, looked at me and said, “That’s all there is?”

I said, “Yep. I just need one more piece, and the rest is yours.” He shook his head as he looked over the pile of dirt and pieces of grass. “I suggested, “You might want to try Lowes.”

He said, “I was just there. I guess I’ll have to come back.”

Back home, I carried my below average sod through the gate into the back yard and covered up the sandbox footprint. I watered it well and said, “Good luck.”

Much to my delight, thunderstorms drenched our neighborhood the past two afternoons. Nothing waters the yard better than rain from above. I have a good feeling about that below average sod. Just wait until the sun hits it and it starts to grow. It will feel right at home.

Posted in Life, tourism

A very different aquarium experience

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A couple of years ago I wrote about a visit to a disappointing aquarium in Fort Worth, TX. When the Daytona Aquarium and Rainforest Adventure opened in the old Burlington Coat Factory building, I was skeptical. “Great, ” I thought, “A few fish tanks and a turtle.”

Today we took three granddaughters (ages 6, 4, and 2) and we were pleasantly surprised. It’s not Sea World (and they don’t charge Sea World prices), but it was a great experience. The habitats and tanks were well done, and we could see most of the reptiles, fish, amphibians, and mammals up close and personal.

After we bought our tickets, we spent time trying to find the creatures in Frog Swamp, Lizard Lair, Snake Den, and Gator Alley.

We got to touch lots of sting rays in Ray Bay. They (the rays) were happy to see us because they thought we had food in our hands. Sorry, not this time.

The fish tanks in Shark Reef and the Amazon were filled with lots of tropical fish. We loved touching the starfish, sea urchins, and hermit crabs in the Touch Pool. The shrimp were shy and kept their distance.

The Rainforest was open, giving us a view of a sloth, lemur, monkeys, and a few birds.

We spent a lot of time in the extensive gift shop on the way out. It was well stocked with every size of all the stuffed creatures we had just seen, along with lots of t-shirts and jewelry.

I enjoyed my visit, would come back, and recommend it to anyone in the Daytona Beach area!

Posted in Life, trash

More fireworks than ever

Posted on by William Douthwaite

On July 5, it was easy to find out who was launching the impressive fireworks on Independence Day. As you can tell from the remains on the street, this year’s neighborhood celebrations were bigger and better than ever. The American Pyrotechnics Association estimates that $2.2 billion was spent on fireworks in America in 2024. I’ll bet it was more this year.

My dogs voiced their indignation as colorful explosions filled the night sky above the trees surrounding our block. A handful of “quiet moment” treats didn’t do much to calm them down. Fortunately, the evening parties near our house didn’t last long, and we all drifted off to sleep.

A friend who works in the emergency room described a patient who walked in with two blown-off index fingers, three degloved fingers, and only half of one thumb. I learned that degloved describes an injury where all the soft tissue is torn away from the bones. Yeah, I know, that sounds horrible. But this guy wrapped his hand in a towel and drove himself to the hospital.

The US Consumer Products Safety Commission reports there were 14,700 fireworks-related injuries and eleven deaths in 2024. I’m more than happy to let someone else light the fuse so I can watch from a distance.

Posted in Life, trash

Friendly neighborhood Spiderman!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

One of the unexpected benefits of walking the dogs a couple times a day is finding treasures along the way. So far this year I’ve found two folding utility knives, a Philips head screwdriver, a clear plastic 18-inch ruler, and twenty cents. That doesn’t include the dress-form and inexpensive guitar I rescued from a rental clean-out trash heap.

Last week I found this one foot tall Spiderman action figure in the middle of the street. It was on a curve in a road with undeveloped wooded lots. With no houses nearby where his owner may have lived, I picked up the superhero and brought him home.

Spiderman debuted in a Marvel comic book in 1962. He’s been featured in many comic books, television shows, and movies since then. Some of my grandchildren are fans of Spidey and His Amazing Friends, a kids variation of the character. But they recognized the classic figure with a resounding, “Whoa!”

He now keeps watch over the toy room alongside a foot-tall Tyrannosaurus Rex, Woody from Toy Story, a Doc McStuffins doll, and the entire cast of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Posted in coffee, Life, waiting

Another impressive coffee machine

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Every time I take my car in the service at the dealer, they’ve upped their coffee game. Here’s a picture of their latest machine featuring espresso, cappuccino, latte, and mocha. Plus, a couple of things I’ve never seen before: a vanilla steamer and a chocolate shot. It served up a delicious latte in less than thirty seconds. Nicely done!

I’ve written about coffee machines before. Waiting areas have come a long way from the days of a single glass carafe one quarter full of burnt-tasting day-old coffee.

Which on this day was good because I had to wait about 2-1/2 hours for some simple service on my car. I had an appointment and the service bay didn’t look busy, but it too them a while before they got around to my oil change and tire rotation. Maybe it was because this was the car’s first service, so it was free.

But I can’t complain too much. I took advantage of the free snacks, including cookies, chips, crackers, granola bars, and fruit. No I didn’t eat all of those. I was polite. I only took one bag of popcorn chips to munch on while watching some home improvement TV episodes.

Eight service advisors were busy on computers. They received service customers, called about insurance, took payment for completed work, and discussed repair options. I suppose snacks and beverages takes the edge off having to get work done, which always costs more than you expect.

Posted in Life

A generous stranger or a suspicious character?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The big dog and I met another interesting person on our walk yesterday. The Independence Day dawn was quiet as we made our way through the sports complex and headed home.

Just down the road, I saw a young man riding toward us on his bike, holding a couple of fishing rods. I pass guys like him all the time, usually fishing off small bridges over the drainage canals.

As we got closer, he stopped and seemed to be waiting for us. But rather than being impressed by the giant dog, he asked, “Would you like a free fishing pole?” I was impressed by his ability to ride a bike holding not a couple but three rods.

I smiled and replied, “No thank you.” Even if my hands weren’t full of dog leash and a blue bag of poop, I would have declined. I just sold a couple of unused fishing poles in a garage sale since it turns out fishing doesn’t really interest me.

Part of me immediately thought, “He’ll probably ask for money.” Been there; done that. “Here’s something free…how about a few bucks?” I don’t know where he got them. Maybe he was being generous. Maybe he was selling dad’s stuff to get a few bucks. Maybe fishing didn’t interest him, either.

I hate it when I feel suspicious of someone I’ve just met or don’t know, who poses no threat to me. I want to think positively about people, but somewhere I learned not to trust…anyone. I don’t like feeling that way.

And now that I’ve uploaded the above picture, I see he was riding his bike in bare feet. He’s more daring than me!

Posted in cookies, Food, Life

Taste-free cookies?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Anita Austvika on Unsplash

I actually went into the bank last week to get change for a twenty from a teller. I don’t do it often, but I wanted some smaller bills to pay for my haircut plus a tip.

Anyway, I’ve known one of the tellers there for a long time, and when I waved, she asked, “Are you still making cookies?” Of course we are. Our little cottage cookie business is doing okay. (Backseatgracebakery.com)

There was no one else in line, so we had a quick conversation. She told me her youngest daughter had asked about cookies. It might have been for a birthday or graduation. She quickly added, “But she’s got all those allergies.”

I said, “Well, we’ve made gluten-free, dairy-free cookies for my daughter-in-law.” Gluten-free flour is easy to find. We’ve also used plant-based butter in some recipes.

“How about nut-free and egg-free?”

“Well, I’ll have to make sure the flavoring has no nut products.” In my head I’m wondering if there is an egg substitute.

I texted my wife about the possibility of making gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free cookies. She replied, “Sure, but they’re taste-free.”

I can’t even imagine navigating this world with that many food-based allergies. You’d carry an epipen with you at all times, just in case. I would make all my own food, so I knew what the ingredients were. How could you ever go to a restaurant?

I don’t think she’ll be ordering cookies from us. We can do it, but the ingredients are pricey and the product isn’t tasty. Plus, our kitchen isn’t completely gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. The liability would be overwhelming.

We do have a rolling pin that we only use for gluten-free flour. We bought it when our niece came to visit so we could make some quiche for her. We keep that rolling pin in a zip lock bag for those times when we need to be gluten-free.

Plant-based butter is a little greasier than real butter. The cookies are look a little gray, but taste pretty good when flooded with delicious icing.

How do you cater to clientele for whom every day eating is a hazard? I’m not sure you can.

Posted in Life, movies

A whole different movie experience

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My wife and I had a chance to go see a movie the other night. For a few weeks we had wanted to see “Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning”, the eighth and final chapter of the series.

When I went to buy our tickets online, I was surprised to find only three rows of seats to choose from. I thought, “Maybe the rest of the theater is sold out.” I nabbed a couple of good seats. (More on that later.) I knew we would buy popcorn, so when I was offered the chance to buy some along with our tickets, I added it to our checkout total.

I saw very few people as we walked into the movie complex. An attendant scanned my online tickets, and we headed towards the concessions. When I arrived, a young person handed me a large bag of popcorn. When my tickets were scanned, the concessions got a notification, bagged up my popcorn, and met me at the counter. Impressive.

I forgot to put a drink into my wife’s purse, so we had to buy one there. You don’t order from a live person. You poke a finger at a kiosk, scan a credit card, and someone brings a bottle of water to you. Again, impressive.

The reason I only had three rows from which to choose seats is our theater only had three rows of comfy reclining seats. We were in the back row, but we had great seats. I’ll bet the whole theater only had forty comfy reclining seats. Nice.

What a different moviegoing experience. Assigned seats, comfy reclining seats, and no wait prepaid concessions. Going to the theater is a much different experience from buying a ticket at a window, waiting in line for popcorn, and finding an unoccupied seat.

I think I like it.

Posted in Life

You’re early

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I thought I was doing the right thing. As the mileage on the new car passed nine thousand miles and the oil life percentage sunk to twenty percent, I made an appointment for service. I feared I had waited too long. But it turns out I acted too soon.

When I first started driving, oil changes came every 3,500 miles. As recently as 2003, that was the recommended service interval for our Chevy Traverse. However, in the world of Honda, the mileage lenthened to five thousand miles or so. That was nice, until a service manager told me to wait till the oil life percentage hit thirty before I brought it in. It took seven to eight thousand miles to hit that mark.

So when our newest car, a 2025, hit eight thousand miles, I though I was close. But the oil life was still at 50%. Okay, I guess I had more time. I checked it every week or so, and finally it go to thirty percent. I made an appointment and brought it in.

After I found my seat in the waiting room, the service representative came over to ask if the maintenance light had gone on.

I anwered, “No. But I figured I was at the right mileage.”

Unless the maintenance light comes on, Honda doesn’t want to see you for service. The service rep said, “I’ll have to see if we can get you in.”

When I asked for more information, he explained, “Sensors know your driving habits, and when you’ll need service.” In other words, the car will let me know when it’s time.

In a sense, here’s an example of artificial intellegence getting a foothold in my decision making process. The machine controls me. I respond to its prompts.

I suppose a self-driving car could take itself in for service. I would not be involved.

That’s a little scary. i used to change my own oil and filters. I used to do my own tuneup.

I’ve almost been replaced.