Farewell South Beach

Posted on February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Well it was my last day in South Beach. I finally got to spend a little time with my favorite cousin. Kathy and I had lots of fun growing up but we haven’t seen too much of each other as adults.

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Kathy picked me up in front of my resort and we went in search of someplace to have lunch off the strip finally settling on a little deli style place where we could eat at a table in front.

My afternoon was spent packing up and roaming the strip. I ran into some of the homeless folks that I’d gotten used to meeting on my walks. I was touched and surprised when one grabbed me and hugged me and wished me well.

For my last evening I decided to treat myself to a salad and shrimp cocktail right on Ocean Drive. Shrimp-Cocktail-2-800

The shrimp looked like mini lobster tails and were delicious. I rounded out my healthful meal with one glass of chardonnay. I got sticker shock when I got the bill. After I added the tip it came to $108.00! Wow! I could eat a lot of steak in Boston for that. But it was worth it.

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The next morning my cab ($40.00 including tip) picked me up on time and delivered me to the airport with time to spare.

All too soon I was winging back to the cold northeast but at least my furry roommates would be glad to see me.

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New Tags

Posted on January 26, 2016January 26, 2016 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

I’m so excited. (Believe me it doesn’t take much). I started using custom luggage tags a couple of years ago and they have made spotting my luggage easy and they are great conversation starters.

My first tag was of Rocky. The picture wasn’t great. I was still getting the hang of creating these little gems.

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Then I upgraded to a better picture. Rocky doesn’t look very happy , does he. He hates when I pull the luggage out.

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I’ve got more luggage now so I needed more tags so I’ve added some of Buddy.

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The finished product has my name and cell # so if my luggage does get lost I can be contacted and reunited.

Aren’t they cute. I just love them! Can’t wait to get the new order!

The Soft Kitty Conundrum

Posted on January 10, 2016January 10, 2016 by Dusty Roads

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Anyone familiar with the “Big Bang Theory” has heard Sheldon’s whine “Sing Soft Kitty for me”.

It’s the lullaby that provides comfort when sickness strikes the sitcom.

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The little song may give Sheldon comfort but it is turning into a headache for Warner Bros.

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The song was written in the 1930’s by Edith Newlin who passed away in 2004. A recent lawsuit by the daughters of the author/composer claims copy-write infringement. The suit maintains that Warner Bros. sought permission in 2007 from Willis Music Co., a company that previously published the lyrics in a book titled “Songs for the Nursery School.” According to Newlin’s daughters, Willis Music Co. authorized the use of lyrics without consultation or permission.

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What I find most interesting is that these heirs didn’t know anything about the song’s use until they ran across a blog entry about the show while researching their mother’s life.

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How long does a copy-write last before it becomes public domain anyway??Until 1977 I think these time frames applied:

All works published in the U.S. before 1923
All works published with a copyright notice from 1923 through 1963 without copyright renewal
All works published without a copyright notice from 1923 through 1977
All works published without a copyright notice from 1978 through March 1, 1989, and without subsequent registration within 5 years

A whole new set of expiration dates were set by congress in 1977 so who knows if they have a case or not. Can even the collective big brains of the geniuses on BBT figure it out? I’m sure lots of high priced lawyers are racking up the billable hours on this right now.

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In the meantime, I love my Soft Kitty T-shirt. And so do all the folks that stop me on the street to tell me they like it too!

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How about an Amtrak Vacation

Posted on October 27, 2015October 27, 2015 by Dusty Roads

My fall vacation finally got here. After a crazy spring, summer and even fall at work I was more than ready for some R & R.

This vacation was something a little different. It was billed as an Amtrak Rail Vacation but I have to admit we did a lot of flying too. So before I break things down into specific adventures let me give you an overview.

The trip name is Riverwalk to the French Quarter (Don’t worry, we’re not walking)

As you may have guessed by the title, this is San Antonio to New Orleans.

Our trip began in San Antonio Texas where day one was basically our first travel day arriving around 5:30 in San Antonio via Delta Airlines.

Day 2 was a Grand Tour of the city starting with the Alamo. It was a full day.

Day 3 was also in San Antonio but it was a free day where we could explore at our leisure.

It Rained!

Included in the package for San Antonio was 1 dinner voucher. (Hard Rock Cafe)

Day 4 was the train trip arriving in New Orleans around 10 pm. (They sure like their pharmacies in New Orleans)

Day 5 was in New Orleans starting with a 1/2 day tour of the city. The afternoon was ours to explore on our own.

Day 6 was also a free day but dinner was at the Court of the Two Sisters with a voucher.

Day 7 was our travel day back to New York this time with Southwest Airlines.

We arrived in Albany, NY at about 5:30 pm. I spent the night at my sister’s and drove back to Massachusetts in the morning. I really wasn’t ready for the vacation to end but my fuzzy little fur-babies were glad I was home.

So now that you have the general idea of what this vacation entailed I’ll get down to specifics in the next posts coming up soon.

Frankly My Dear, I don’t Give a Clam

Posted on September 20, 2015September 20, 2015 by Dusty Roads

News flash…Summer is not over. Nope not at all. Don’t believe me? Just ask my sister.

We just had an awesome weekend. In my family you don’t just go visit someone. You need an excuse like a wedding or funeral or birthday and the perfect excuse presented itself this weekend. This was the weekend of the Scallop Festival.

Now anyone who follows this blog knows I am a sucker for a plate of scallops. Well my sister is the same way. So I was pleased, if surprised when my sister said she was willing to drive over from upstate NY for the weekend and go to the Scallop Festival with me.

Sandy arrived Friday night and after getting her settled we went to the Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner. I have to tell you their $12.99 dinner combo is an amazing value. We started with a salad. (we both chose Caesar), then a sirloin steak (6 once which can be upgraded) cooked to a medium rare perfection with a baked potato that was really baked, not microwaved. Even though we were pretty stuffed we couldn’t say no to the cinnamon carrot cake for dessert. Yummy! and all that for only $12.99 each. The service was excellent too.

We returned home and rolled out the air mattress for me to sleep on . Sandy got the bed. I expected the cats to be all over me since I was on the floor at their level but no, Rocky checked out the situation and retired back to the living room.

Buddy had to see if he could get the bed from Sandy so he took a leap right onto her back. I’m not sure who was more surprised but he didn’t linger. He jumped down, landed on my air mattress, took a couple of staggering steps to solid ground and apparently gave up.