Friday, July 11, 2025

Picture of the Day - Dogs

My goal this month is to take a daily picture of something that makes me smile.

I love dogs.  We don't have dogs now as ours have all cross the rainbow bridge.  I do want some in the future. The pictures below are not our dogs and were taken earlier this year.  For some reason, Dogs tend to feel very comfortable around me.

This is Sola. A little cuddle bug. One of my wife's friends's Dog

This is Mickan, another Friend's Dog

This is Momo, a dog that we Dog sit for one of my wife's friends.  Momo is very guy-oriented and does not care how hot it is. It still wants to cuddle. She will sleep with us at night.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Picture of the Day - Zen Dog

My goal this month is to take a daily picture of something that makes me smile.

This figurine was given to me by one of my directors in UPS (Sarah Freeman).  She wanted each manager to have a Character theme for their team.  We had to outline what character and why.  I selected a Zen Dog—someone who remains calm under pressure and is focused on the task. If you know me, I am a dog person. I think they are angels sent from above to show us what undivided love feels like.  Dogs get excited when you come home from work and can make a bad day bright without much effort.

The picture at the bottom was the computer background I had on my computer at work to reinforce 

Now that I have retired, I have it on my desk to remind me to let things roll as they may and to stay calm.  Do I always meet that direction? Not really, but this is a gentle reminder.

Wednesday, July 09, 2025

Picture of the Day - Black Belts

My goal this month is to take a daily picture of something that makes me smile.

This picture is of my son, Chris, and me with Grand Master Chuck Norris and His Brother, Grand Master Aaron Norris, after we received our 1st-degree black belt recognition during the UFAF International Training Conference that year.  Both Chris and I made it to 2nd Degree and have stalled at that rank for a while now. I am proud of that as I did something meaningful with Chris together. This journey began when my original instructor opened a class in his garage, located down the street from us, and Chris wanted to join. I observed for about a year before I joined the school.  I was the only adult in class for quite a few years. I used to joke with my workmates that I was going to class to beat up 8-year-olds. The truth was they were beating me up.

Tuesday, July 08, 2025

Picture of the day - Forest

My goal this month is to take a daily picture of something that makes me smile.

This painting was done by my Wife's Cousin, Hiromi, who was my wife's maid of Honor at our wedding 40+ years ago.  My daughter is named after her with her middle name.  Hiromi was a fantastic artist and will be missed.

She tragically lost her life in the 2011 Japanese Tsunami in Sendai, Japan.

Monday, July 07, 2025

Picture of the Day - Flower

My goal this month is to take a daily picture of something that makes me smile.

This painting brings a bitterweek smile to my face as it was done by my Dear Friend Betty Nelson, who passed away at 92 from Kidney Cancer in 2022.  I remember when she was living here in Las Vegas and first started painting after her husband passed away, you could tell she was a beginning painter.  Amazingly, in just a few years, she created some remarkable masterpieces. She sent this to us several months before she passed away, and I will always cherish it.  

Her husband was one of my dad's Navy Buddies that I was introduced to, to help him with his Ship's Website, which I still run for the Nelson family. I used to love going over to Art and Betty's house, as Art would tell some fantastic stories about his Navy career, and life after he retired.  Betty was always very quiet and would make faces behind him when he was telling his stories.  After he passed, we used to go over to her house every couple of weeks to check up on her until her Daughter moved her to Florida with her. It was a perfect choice as Betty was here by herself while her kids were in other states. Her daughter, whom she moved in with, was a doctor, so she had to live in care.  Betty was quite the chatterbox when we used to visit her after her husband passed away. I learned a lot about the Celebrity golf tournaments they used to run in California and the different restaurants she managed.

Betty used to cook for the Dallas Cowboys in the 60s and had some great stories about her experiences. She was an amazing cook and taught my wife great recipes.