You had to have been there, but my wife and I were having breakfast in a quaint little cafe in a garden setting this morning.  It reminded me of Monet’s Gardens that we had just visited several weeks ago in France.  (See post #86: Inspiration)  We were joking about the chicken coop that was just beyond the outdoor patio area of the restaurant.  Claude Monet also had chickens at Giverny, so the whole glorious day of seeing the colorful flowers and waterlilies surrounding the ponds on his country property was part of our breakfast discussion.  When our farm-fresh eggs and bacon were delivered, I couldn’t help but notice a painting over one of the tables in the cafe.  It was very abstract, almost child-like, but in the center was clearly the head of a cow.  A Moo-net, I asked?

I thought perhaps I could do a whole Moo-net series, should I decide to take up painting or drawing in retirement.  Cows in various settings, maybe even some chickens in the background, could fill my “empty” days, as waterlilies dominated Monet’s.  I think this shows the value of retirement travel in shaping great ideas and keeping the mind sharp.  It also demonstrates that I was in a playful Mooood today, a definite by-product of retirement.  In all seriousness, we did then talk about our next travel adventures, perhaps a better way to spend my idle time.  After all, I never was very good with paint.  There always seemed to be more of it on me than on the actual target, so the Moo-net idea is open to anyone.  Or, is this idea “udder-ly” ridiculous.  I’ll try to think of something else.  Tan Man? (see #99 Beaches).

“Megan Leavey” was a great movie, although the name doesn’t really tell you anything about what the movie is about.  Marketing 101?  It is a true story about a female Marine and her bomb-sniffing canine companion.  It inspired my to write some stories about our dogs (#133 Puppy Love).  Trust me, my dog stories are not movie-worthy, but rather great memories I will treasure forever.  Our dogs would have really been fascinated with those chickens this morning, but sadly they had to stay home because the weather was not cooperating with our plans to do something new.  At least the restaurant, Cornell Cafe, was a first and we picked up a yellow rosebush for the back deck.  It is, after all, Rose Festival time here in Portland.  The opening parade was yesterday, and festivities will continue for the next few weeks.  By the way, it did rain on our parade!

I’m going to get some extra “my time” this week, with my wife’s travels out of town.   We’ll have a birthday to celebrate when she gets back, as she gets closer to Senior Citizen discounts and retirement.  There will be no date night and I will not cook this week, so I’ll need to find new ways to keep track of the days.  I do have some errands to run, a dental appointment, and pet duties, including a trip to the doggie spa. Hopefully the weather will improve and I can enjoy some time in the sun.  I would also like to walk the pups down to Starbucks, so they can fertilize some plants, water the grass, and enjoy a treat once they get there.  The location down the street has been out of my traditional Tranquility Herbal Tea with honey the last couple of weeks, plus the weather has been too sketchy for walking that far.

It’s going to be a good week for sports.  The College World Series will start, the NBA Finals could end with a single Warrior’s victory, the Portland Timbers match up with the Seattle Sounders, the Cubs travel to the Mets, and the Orioles play the White Sox.  I’m also going to have to find a new source for my weekly fitness classes.  The 24 Hour Fitness membership that we bought turned out to not be what we thought, so we cancelled.  I know the folks in the Silver Sneakers program will miss me!

Have a great week!