Coitus Interruptus

Morning coffee with mom and sister is a constant in my life at present.  I have a cup or two, catch-up on the events of the past 24-hours, pack wood from the woodshed to the porch, receive instructions on any errands that need to be run and then hit the road for town and my daily workout. 

Not surprisingly, conversation at the morning Koffee Klatch also frequently includes reminiscences of events, places or personages from Juneau's past. 

Yesterday, we were wandering down memory lane and stumbled across the Spruce Delicatessen which in my youth was located on Glacier Avenue where Goldbelt Plaza currently resides.

The Spruce Delicatessen was a totem of my early years.  From the day I received my first allowance until my teenage years Spruce was the source of much entertainment and malnourishment for myself and my childhood pals.  Spruce was where we obtained our balsa gliders, squirt guns, balloons (to be weaponized with water from a garden hose), Super Balls, and kites as well as our Shasta Soda (It hasta to be Shasta), ice cream bars, Hostess Cupcakes and candy in countless varieties.

The proprietors of this venerable establishment were a couple of long-time Juneauites who regarded us kids with a mixture of affection (or at least an appreciation of our coin) and suspicion (our potential for neighborhood hooliganism).  Us kids were similarly of two minds regarding Al and Cora.  While they were the source of lots of fun and yummy stuff, they could also be serious nags - "You'll put your eyes out with those darts!"

In any event, yesterday, just as I was savoring these sweet childhood memories mom threw a serious curve ball into the conversation.

"Cora used to live at Ma's (Grandma Newman's) boardinghouse" mom announced.  "And Ma caught her having sex in the hallway - on that trunk."  Mom pointed to grandma's old trunk which now sits in mom's living room.

OOFTA! 

In other news, another beautiful morning.  Chilly but clear.  It's been quite nice for almost a week now.  It is supposed to cloud-up today, however, with a chance of snow late tonight.  Sadly it is supposed to warm-up later in the week...rain on Thanksgiving.  I am beginning to hear rumbles of discontent from the skier and snowboarder crowd at the club.

The past week has been hugely uninteresting.  The high point was mom's birthday on Wednesday and I believe she enjoyed her birthday dinner. I enjoyed cooking it. 

Otherwise I have been keeping my nose to the grindstone working on my 2011 photo calendar.  I think I have made about 50 months worth of pictures; but I have not been happy with the results in most cases and am still a couple months shy, picture wise, of an acceptable calendar.  Tick-tock.  Need to get this show on the road.

To sum-up, I am in winter hibernation mode.  Wake-up, check the news online, blog, Coffee at mom's, a long workout with a steam or sauna, run errands, read a book, work on photo projects, cook supper, watch Family Guy, the Simpsons and Southpark, go to bed, wake-up and do it all over again.

By late January or early February I will need to get out of town before I go stir crazy .  Still, I cannot say that I am truly bored.  The days whizz-by.

Later gang.