I remember that day 45 years ago. I was just a kid. Can you imagine that? But I remember. And all these years later tonight, the clouds are still dripping. Digging a hole that can’t be filled. Or can it? With love.

Thanksgiving weekend was beautiful, meaningful, fun, and tasty! I made a turkey dinner with friends and later savored leftovers as a Thanksgiving sammich. Served, of course, with a large helping of football!

My favorite season continues to unfold, filled with chill grey air, mist hanging on the hills, snow in the high places, and beautiful fall leaves mixed among the pines. A priceless milestone passed this weekend, my new perennial tradition of remembrance and celebration of life with friends; Bonfire!

After weeks of fog and rain, it was a clear, crisp fall day today. Perfect for savoring the moment to rake up the autumn leaves! A labor of love for the season. And doesn’t this pile just make you want to jump into it? (Although perhaps not with a wet sucker.)

The aurora is at its most powerful for this coronal mass ejection event right now over Seattle, KP-8! Except it’s 9:00am, the sun is up, and it’s raining. Still, it was very pretty to see last night when it was less powerful but at least visible, just after sunset through thin clouds.

I don’t recirculate others’ posts often. Especially ones seeking financial backing. But wouldn’t it be neat if Paco’s dream of reviving production of this promising short stop motion film about a Mexican Wolf’s adventure could be realized?

To celebrate the Brazilian Grand Prix from Interlagos in São Paulo yesterday, always one of my most favorite races of the season, I prepared a dinner of Feijoada with Farofa! It’s a bit like the French dish called Cassoulet, but made with black beans. So delicious!

It was pouring rain much of the day and night yesterday. That, along with my new filling at the dentist yesterday, necessitated me making for dinner a beautiful hot split pea soup!

Had a great and appropriate movie night tonight, for Bonfire Night. My first ever hearing of it was when I lived in the UK. It was more like the 4th of July there, a time for youth to enjoy huge fires and fireworks. The Guy is the villain. But damn if V for Vendetta didn’t hit hard tonight.

Back in the dentist’s chair for another filling. Beats getting a root canal a few years down the road, but it’s still one of my least happy places to be. No strokes plz!

I basked in the official first holiday weekend of my holiday season. Despite the rain, we had plenty of trick-or-treaters! I spent quite a while out front giving away candy. Then, for Dia de los Muertos, I set up my little oferende to welcome home Chase and savored my annual viewing of Coco.

For readers in Seattle, you have an opportunity to hear What Strange Beasts, my favorite furry band, live on Friday! Their proggy psychedelic goodness actually makes them one of my outright favorite bands ever, furry or otherwise. Fortunately for you readers not in Seattle, we have jet airplanes!

To celebrate the Grand Prix of Singapore this weekend, I made Singapore Noodles and Singapore Slings!

Happy Raccoon Appreciation Day!

Safeway, no!

I’m leaving my parent’s for Seattle feeling relief and guilt. It’s been a pleasure traveling Europe with them, but also so much work. Dealing with dementia, mobility issues, and a trip to the ER last night - so exhausting! I hate to leave them without my help, but after a month I’m completely spent.

Leaving London and off to North America again. I’ve got a cozy home for the next 10 hours.

One last little bit of tourism on this adventure - the National Motor Museum in the New Forest near Southampton. Way too many cars to share them all, but here’s a few cool ones!

Starting the journey back to North America tomorrow. Fun fact, we’re tied up just 500 ft further down the same pier that Titanic took on passengers for New York from. They just don’t dock passenger ships that exact berth anymore for reasons. White/grey ship seen from our veranda in Titanic berth.

After enjoying a day in Belfast, I found it to be a vibrant and fun city. It’s not an old city, but it has the spirit of an old world capital on the continent along with the joy of a thriving youthful culture. It’s left its troubles behind (mostly) and is moving into a bright future.

Belfast turned out to be surprisingly vibrant and beautiful European city! I’ll show more of that later, but first, the Troubles. Bill Clinton negotiated the peace over 25 years ago. It’s held, more or less, but deep divides remain. Even the “peace” walls still have a job to do. It’s scary.

Well, darn. I’ve just learned we lost one of the fandom’s very best a few days ago - @bradhound.bsky.social . He was a sweet and friendly face I loved to see at cons for more than 20 years. He had a beautiful heart, but it finally gave out on him. I’m going to miss him a lot.

Breakfast in Belfast! The view from my breakfast table is kind of special too. These massive yellow cranes have the letters H&W on them. That stands for Harland and Wolff. This is the shipyard and indeed the very place RMS Titanic was built - as well as many other great ocean liners of the era.

Welp, I can tick this one off the bucket list! I’ve now been to the Welsh village of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch.

We’ve left Scotland behind. I’ll miss it, it’s one of my favorite bits of the world. I’d never seen her west coast nor the Hebrides before and I very much enjoyed the place. I hope to come back. Next on this wonderful voyage we will visit Wales and Ireland.

The food aboard this ship is off the hook. And it never stops coming at you. Last night was Asian fusion cuisine. Starters of assorted colorful fish roe, tuna tartare, beef skewers, and surf and turf main course- wagyu beef with lobster!

Today I visited the lovely Scottish seaside town of Oban, home of an equally lovely whiskey by the same name. We took the hour long tour which included not one, but three wee drams to enjoy!

I explored some ancient megaliths on Orkney. How and why they were built is lost in the mist of time. But we do know when. These stones were standing here as you see them now 3,000 years before Julius Caesar became the first emperor of Rome.

Visiting Shetland! I met a 4 year old eponymous pony and was awed by the abilities of a mature, fully trained sheepdog. But meeting 5 month old collie pup Lance, much like my friend Ransom at home, was magic. He was already able to find the balance point between himself, the sheep, and shepard!

Self referential disaster?

This might be @terkwolf.bsky.social ‘s idea of heaven. A Putanesca pizza! It’s definitely my idea of lunch today on the North Sea, which is currently looking uncharacteristically placid off the coast of Norway.

Cruising the midnight Skagerrak in lightning and hard rain. This, after a day in Götheborg, remembering a very close friend, and another trip to this town at 15, with my parents to buy Volvo.The perfect storm of emotion and nostalgia tonight. We were sent off by a cute marching band of 15 year olds.

A few pictures from embarkation day aboard Silver Spirit, and dinner at the Italian specialty restaurant. Also of note, though I’m a grey muzzle by furry standards, my brother and I are easily the youngest passengers on this ship. Apparently they don’t call this cruise line Silver Seas for nothing!

I took an early morning walk through Copenhagen, to find Neils Bohr’s birthplace. When you think about it, the most reliable branch of physics was born here. And the most least understood.

This is what the morning commute in Copenhagen looks like.

We have a free day in Copenhagen!It Planned as a buffer before embarking the ship if the jet was late and for jet lag. On the ride from CPH airport to the hotel, we already ticked off an item I wanted to see - Noma! It’s oft ranked the best restaurant in the world. No $640 lunch for me tho.

SAS has some pretty amazing food in business. Cheeses, salad prepared seat-side, wonderful cocktails, amazing overnight oats in almond milk at breakfast… but the highlight was the Danish butter. Best I’ve ever tasted! Also, best lav I’ve seen on an airliner.

Got everyone to the jet okay, 11 hours to relax on SAS before back to work in Copenhagen.

I’m back to work, escorting octogenarians halfway round the world on a cruise. Off to a rocky start with one of my parents best friends passing away the night before my Mom’s birthday celebrations Friday, and a forgotten wallet giving us a late start to SFO. Fixer mode engage!

I successfully arrived at the ancestral home of Monterey at the golden hour last evening. A pretty flight. I was pleasantly surprised to find the fam doing much better than when I’d left them last in June. With help from my brother and myself, they’re fit enough for one more European adventure.

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I’m off for my next big adventure. Escorting my elderly parents on a cruise of the British Isles. It was planned for last year, but delayed with my father’s sepsis last spring. He’s hanging in there. Barely. Special bonus time. First step: picking them up in California. Preflight check complete!

I’ll be giving up quite a lot of my favorite late summer traditions for travel this year. But this weekend I got to celebrate one of them with many of my great friends from the community. The summer Tiki party!

It’s been a long time in coming; Seattle finally provided a clear night with some interesting objects in the evening sky for me to test out my new telly-scope. It’s hard here, it stays bright out too late at night in summer and is cloudy all winter. But tonight, I saw the whole of the Moon.

Enjoying a special night. For Jim.

Cooking Japanese style for dinner last night. I made Okonomiyaki. It’s fun to make, and delicious! Especially with the specialty steak cut bacon I used in the roll of pork belly.

Zero-G presents a pesky pants problem for North on #NationalUnderwearDay. Art by the understated master of underwear: @mushketeery.bsky.social

Today’s Seafair Airshow put me smack in the middle of an aviation meme: What I think a 50 year old fighter plane looks like vs what a 50 year old fighter plane actually looks like.

North Walf, in his happy place!

I got 1k vertical feet of easy trail hiking in on Mt. Rainier today! Not bad for a guy who could barely move with a herniated disc last month. No further aggravation of the injury today either. I’m pleased. And hard to beat enjoying mountain sunshine with marmots.