In anticipation of a potential ice or snow storm, we covered our Fusion with tarps to preclude having to scrape off ice and snow.
It was a little windy and it was blowing the tarps up when we first put them on, so we brought out our trash, recycle, and yard waste bins to use as anchors. 😂
One friend walking by texted us: “Bob and John, Peter and I would like to know if your garbage cans attacked your car before or after happy hour last night?” 😍
Responding that it’s been fun watching people walk by and doing a doubletake when seeing it, she responded: “If you only had a garage. 😂”
I texted back: “Bob’s 1999 Tacoma — in flawless condition — gets that spot.”
There I was this past Sunday, reading this week’s PostSecrets, when I came across a postcard in the collection that after literally howling, I created this card and put it in the U.S. mail to Bob.
Backstory:
Whenever we stay in hotels, Bob loves to get to know the people who service our room, although most times, we turn down daily service, because it’s so wasteful and we use very little. We definitely don’t want our sheets or towels changed, especially if we’re spending only one night.
We usually do use the coffee packets/pouches/k-cups, though, and since he knows they won’t come in for service and replace them, he keeps an eye out for one of their unattended carts in the hallway to grab some replacements for the next day.
We also each like 3 pillows, and if we forget to ask for the extra ones, he’ll look for hallway closets where the extra linen might be stored, and I can’t even describe the excitement if he finds one and it’s unlocked.
It cracks me up. Which is why, when I saw this postcard: 1) I immediately thought it was one that he would submit to PostSecret, and 2) it made me guffaw.
When my mother was in assisted living, her favorite Activities Director was Maria Iadonisi, for whom we were extremely grateful and still keep in touch with 9 years later.
Each year around the holidays, we heed her call for gift bags for residents of the facility she’s currently working in.
I’ve “written” and published two “books” in the past — one for our 1st anniversary and one for our 5th anniversary. Musing back at each of them on this auspicious celebration of being married 10 years.
Bob and I are sticklers about sending thank-you notes, as addressed in this set of 3 50-word stories I wrote back in 2021:
Bob’s mother was a writer, and she owned this book:
Copyright 1955, Eaton Paper Corporation
It’s old now, but (most of) its principles still stand. It’s a short 27-page book, and 5 of those pages are about letters that must be written:
Of course, this day and age, this corollary is also true: “For example, it would never do for a young groom to reply on the telephone to a written dinner invitation from his wife’s employer!”
These are the 10 occasions for which a letter is a must — 3 of which are thank-you related:
“Thank you for the gift”
The receipt of even the most trifling gift must be acknowledged by letter.
“Thank you for the weekend”
You must write a “bread-and-butter letter” to your hostess to show that you have appreciated her hospitality.
“Thank you for the favor”
If a friend has shown special courtesy to a member of your family — if she has put herself out in any way to help you, it is imperative that you write a note to show her how grateful you are.
“Mr. and Mrs. accept with thanks”
Since all invitations should be written, it is necessary to acknowledge an invitation with a written reply.
“Bon voyage and best wishes”
To be correct, a hand-written note on your personal visiting card should accompany every gift.
“I enjoyed your letter so much”
Every letter you receive from a friend demands a letter in reply. However, if someone owes you a letter, do not stubbornly refuse to write until it is “your turn.” 😂 Write whenever you feel the urge.
“Best wishes for the holiday”
Your written message, no matter how short, means twice as much, especially at Christmas or other holidays.
“Congratulations and best wishes”
Whether it’s a new baby, a new job, a new husband (😂), or a graduation, a letter is the gracious way of expressing your pleasure.
“We hope you’ll get well soon”
A letter written to a friend who is sick is the most appreciated thoughtfulness.
“My deep-felt sympathy”
When a person is bereaved the simple, sincere expressions of sympathy you write are deeply felt and appreciated.
Here’s Bob and I waiting for our thank-you notes, if you owe us one:
This week’s stories are by a “guest author” — my husband, Bob McVeigh!
Rules
Service
Predilection
Friday is trash day in our neighborhood. Bins must be out by 7:30AM, on the curb, wheels facing out. Pickup is typically between 8AM and 10AM. Household trash weekly, recycle and yard waste alternate weeks. Bins must not be overloaded, recycling not bagged, yard waste without debris, no construction trash.
I started taking in a few neighbors’ bins a few years ago when I noticed TR’s bins, two doors down, were left on the curb for days. She’s single and often works until way after dark, so I thought I’d do her a favor. She sometimes thanks us with bourbon.
Not that I’m particular, but I think the bins should be placed in a certain order. Closest to the house door should be recycling, next trash, and then yard waste. Often the trash is not filled weekly, yard waste typically just monthly. The recycle bin is definitely the most used.
With Bob as the Invisible Man, and I wearing my Dancing Pumpkin Man shirt and mask that Bob made us last year, we enjoyed cocktails and pizza while greeting trick-or-treaters on our friend Sam and Neal’s front porch.
Our friends Dana and Finley have been hosting zombie-themed Halloween parties for almost 2 decades! Their invitation said: “If you don’t have a zombie costume, it’s easy to ‘zombify’ a costume you do have.”
That’s “Peg” with us — a $5 find at the Dollar Tree — and the inspiration for our make-up.
And two fun foods at the party:
Putting the finger in finger food
Feet loaf!
Epilogue:FTR, this stuff was an absolute bitch to remove:
With the white and black smearing together into a bluish-gray color during removal, we’d’ve been a hit joining other blue hairs at K&W for a 4:30 dinner. A lot of this, with a multiple applications, was involved in the removal:
“When a banana is bruised, cut, or peeled, enzymes trigger a chemical cascade that ends in melanin, the same pigment that colors human hair. Those brown patches are technically harmless, but they’re responsible for throwing away nearly one-third of all bananas grown worldwide — roughly 5 billion bananas in the U.S. alone every year.”Read the entire article.
On the surface this seems like good news, but I rely on those black spots to inform me about how tasty a banana is. And when it comes to that, I’m a “13 kind of guy.” My husband is a “7 or 8 kind of guy.” What about you?
And I can’t think of that without remembering February 21, 2016, when I was still working and my husband made my lunch every day.
He knows how I like my bananas, but we didn’t have any ripe ones so he DIYed one up and put it in my lunch bag. Imagine my surprise when I opened it:
This might rank as the best birthday I’ve had in my entire 68 years on the planet.
On Saturday (10/11/25), Bob and I felt like local celebrities when we wore our specially made t-shirts to the Pelagic block party:
“We own the red house!”
and many of the people there were members of the Pelagic Run Club, which runs by our house every Monday around 6:15, and whom we cheer on while having a front-yard happy hour with friends and neighbors.
We’ve been cheering them on for a little over a year now, and it was so great to meet many of them at the party.
So 2 days later, on Monday, 10/13/25, which just happened to be my birthday, there I was just going through our usual preparation and set-up for our weekly happy hour and cheering event, with no knowledge of this message the run club’s esteemed leader and organizer, Jay, had sent to their runners’ email list.
So, it’s Monday run club and our front-yard happy hour now… and as the runners approached they started yelling, “Happy Birthday, John!” (perhaps goaded on by this sign on a car up ahead of me that they could see but I couldn’t):
The were waving greeting cards and signs for me, which they either handed to me or put on a nearby table as they passed by.
The gallery of runners bearing cards and other birthday greetings. (You can click on first picture and flip through the gallery, if you’re interested in enlarged versions.)
This is a different gallery, click on the first pic to flip through.
Here’s the table, which my friends who had helped plan all this had conveniently placed by the road to facilitate the runners dropping off their greetings.
A few of the runners whom we’d met on Saturday at the block party stopped for a bit to wish me a happy birthday.
And here I am giving their leader, Jay, a huge hug of thanks!
In the end, my friends set everything out on my car to capture the overwhelming stash of greetings!
Including signs made with love…
And as a sign of our times, a special THC-infused drink delivery from one of the runners. Thanks, Cyndi!
This was by far our largest happy hour gathering with around 65 people comprising friends and neighbors!
More than once, I was overcome by all of the love — between the entire group in the yard singing happy birthday to me, one friend playing happy birthday to me on his trumpet, and by all of the cards and greetings coming in, particularly when gratefully realizing of all the work that so many people put into making this happen.
Thanks to all of our friends and neighbors for being there and for your best wishes, whether in greetings or gifts — or both.
A special thanks to a group of Mordecai friends and neighbors (Beth, Ella, Guy, Sam, Claire, Jen, & Michael Ann) who:
Worked ahead of time with Jay from Pelagic to ask the runners to sign greeting cards
Made signs ahead of time for the runners to pick up as they neared our house
Staffed a place up the street during the event to hand the runners the signs to give me as they passed by
And a huge thank you to Jay and all of the runners of the Pelagic Run Club who have my heart!
And finally, you saw that pile of birthday cards on the car above. I received 25 of them from the runners with a total of 94 good wishes inside them. Who’s counting???
Here are pictures of 8 of the cards. And in between them are the sentiments from most of the other cards — all of which I’m capturing here for posterity.
Thank you for cheering us on at the point of the run when we are questioning the run! Maggie
Awesome John! Thank you so much for making our Mondays so fun and special! Happy birthday! From Iza & Devin (your new friends!)
John! Happy birthday. Your cheers and smiles motivate us each Monday. Thank you for being a ray of sunshine. Love, Tori (Pelagic Run Club)
Happy birthday, John! Thank you so much for supporting us on these Monday night endeavors. Alex H.
So awesome to wish you a Happy!!! Birthday!!!! Hope you are having a great one and have a lot of people to wish you a good day! Thanks for all you do!!!
John! You’re amazing! Happy birthday! Eliza
Happy birthday to the captain of the very best cheer crew! We appreciate you so much! The Chiodos
Thank you for all the encouragement! Now it’s our turn to cheer you on! Happy birthday, John!!!
Love your house dearly. – Derick
Feliz cumpleaños! Ari P
Happy happy birthday! We appreciate you so much. Makes my day every Monday! Callan
John, thanks for making Mordecai such a lovely and welcoming neighborhood. Little act of kindness (such as cheering on runners every week) make a wonderful difference. Y’all rock!!! Love, Alex, Michael, Craig, Anna, & Liz
Happy birthday, John!!! If I wasn’t running, I would absolutely want to be invited to your house to party. Today we cheer for you! Charlotte
Happy birthday! Thanks for all the joy you bring to our runs. – emily
Happy birthday, John. Thanks for all the cheers and support. Mike.
Happy birthday, John! Thanks for all the good cheer! Loren, Rusty, Krebs, Chip, and Tom
Happy birthday, John! Hope it’s a great one and the drinks are extra strong at the Big Red House today! – Mike
Happy birthday, John!!! Thank you for always cheering on our run club every week. 🙂 Reb
Happy birthday! Thanks for spreading so much joy! – Lucy
The highlight of every Monday! Happy birthday! Jen
Happy birthday, John! Thank you for all of your support. You keep our spirits high! Diana, Ryan, Carly, Nathalia, Michael
Happy birthday, John! Thanks for the cheers every week! – Jesus 🙂
HBD! Thank you so much for the amazing energy every Monday. – Deanna
You make Monday great! Philip
Happy birthday! You are the best! Thank you for showing up for us every week! We so appreciate you! Drink up and enjoy! – Kristyn
We love your vibe!
Happy birthday ya legend!!!! Rock on. Dave
And a huge, huge thanks to my husband and partner in crime for all of these happy hours we’ve had over the year. He does a tremendous amount of work:
Keeping our yard and house looking stellar
Coming up with the slogans and making the signs each week
Preparing (making most of it!) the food
Helping with everything that’s going on inside the house leading up to, and during, these events
It’s September 23rd and 12 years ago today, in 2013, I started working at Red Hat.
One Arbor Day around that time, Red Hat had saplings in our building lobby to take for free in the spirit of “plant a tree,” and I took this River Birch, which we — meaning Bob — planted in our front yard.
Almost 10 years later, whenever we sit on the front porch in the morning, I marvel at the tree it has grown into.
Every other month or so, Bob & I (in Raleigh) have a Zoom-call happy hour with Bob’s brother Jimmy and his wife Cindy (in Scottsdale), just to catch up.
For it, we each make an “agenda” to keep the meeting moving and to cover everything that’s on our collective minds.
We were texting recently and the subject of scallops came up, and Cindy requested that we add that to the agenda.
We buy Patagonian scallops from Publix whenever they’re BOGO, which means we get one $19.50 bag like this one for free.
In preparation for our call, I did a search on “scallops” in all of our meal menus since January 1, 2024, to refresh our memories of all ways we’ve cooked them — and by “we,” I mean Bob, because I don’t cook. This is what we found:
In between finishing Danube riverboat cruise blog posts (me) and catching up on the laundry and mowing (Bob), we’re getting “back in the saddle” after someone else having meal planned and cook for us for 11 days. I know Bob appreciated the break.
Thanks to him for preparing next week’s menus. We are good to go for the week!
Sunset over the Danube last night leaving Bratislava heading toward Vienna:
I enjoyed a cuppa cawfee (without the tawk) in our cabin this morning.
Today’s program:
We skipped the “Art Tour of Vienna” excursion, because we like neither art history nor museums. Discuss.
Bob and I took the 2:30 free shuttle bus from the riverboat to the City Center Schwedenplatz and walked around in the light drizzle. Bob was my umbrella aide-de-camp whenever I took a photo.
Other city walk pics:
Our ship provided a city map for our walk
When a male step likes another male step, they turn gay!
I’m sure I’d crash before I could decipher this street pavement sign.
Tonight’s dinner menus:
We forewent the evening classical music concert for several reasons:
Bob doesn’t care for classical music.
I attend the N.C. Symphony somewhat regularly, and I constantly listen to our classical music station — which Bob affectionately refers to as “the oldies station.”
I did the Viennese waltz in Vienna with my then-wife when I was here 45 years ago, which I view as an equivalent experience.
With all that said, the people who went reported that the concert was great! And it was a special concert just for the people on this riverboat cruise.
My friend sent me this image saying, “7’s for me. Is it 12 or 13 for you?”
She’s not wrong:
She’s a lot like Bob (my husband); he picked #8.
To me, 12, 13 & 14 are great.
13 looks perfect to slice and put atop some cereal that could use a little natural sweetener.
14 would be good mixed in some vanilla ice cream.
And 15 is approaching one that we’d put in the freezer for when Bob makes my annual Best. Ever. Banana. Cake.
This reminds me, Bob knows me so well that one time when I was still working, I wanted a banana for lunch, but he knew the ones we had weren’t ripe enough for me, so he doctored one up with a Sharpie and packed it in my lunch.
We have a picture, which we’ve learned is worth a thousand words, when trying to explain to cruise cabin stewards how we want the bed made up — especially if the steward’s English is a second language.
First of all, we need 3 pillows each.
Second of all, we want only the sheet on one-half (my half, the right side of the pic) of the bed, and the sheet plus the duvet on the other half (Bob’s half, the left side of the pic) of the bed.
This is really quite easily accomplished: put a queen-size sheet on the bed, and then put a twin-size duvet on top of the sheet on the left side — but it’s been our experience that, for some reason, this is very difficult to articulate with just words, so we keep this photo on our phone during cruises.
Bob toiled making The Best Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe from allrecipes.com, which caught my attention because it made me think of my favorite dish from K&W Cafeteria, when it was open at The Village District (née Cameron Village), and where we used to have dinner a couple of times a month. (Bob’s favorite dish there was their liver and onions.)
There is no way this dish couldn’t be out of this world with its “cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream mixture for a decadent, cream spaghetti sauce.” Oh yeah, there’s a ½ cup of butter in it, too!
We had Portuguese rolls for a crusty bread with it and Bob’s homemade fruit salad as a dessert.
Because Bob clears out things regularly and donates them to Cause for Paws, we didn’t have that many things to sell at a yard sale, so Bob joined forces with our across-the-street neighbor to be on the map for our neighborhood day of yard sales.
Our fabulous neighbor and her sons
Bob “back in the saddle” with yard sales
Yard sales in progress
John “in the catbird seat” on our front porch taking in the action across the street
On Saturday morning, I set out on an 8-day drive. Oh sorry, did I say 8-day? I meant 8-hour.
After about 2 hours, making my first stop — at the Welcome to Virginia rest stop — I took a minute to lay out the “snacks and lunch” my husband packed for me, which included two most delicious homemade sausage biscuits.
This is the second surgery that I’ve had that has been with just a local anesthesia. The first one was 38 years ago, about which I wrote this 50-word story:
Mind if we watch?
At 29, I got a vasectomy. With my legs in stirrups and my junk hanging through a hole, the surgeon asked if a med school class could observe the procedure. To my surprise, I heard my Valium-induced euphoric response: “Sure, why not? Y’all pop some popcorn and sit up front.”
Last Wednesday, I had surgery to remove mucoid cysts on 2 of my fingers — also with just a local anesthesia but with no med school students watching.
The most interesting thing that happened while the prep team was reading all of the disclosures to me that have to made before surgery (e.g., “All surgeries involve some kind of risk.”) was this disclosure: “Dr. Erickson [my surgeon] is a business partner of — and has financial interest in — this center.”
About 45 minutes before being wheeled into the OR, I had a Valium and 4 (quite) painful numbing injections — 2 in the palm of my left hand and one into each finger that was going to be sliced open.
In the very cold OR, with a drape between me and my hand so as not to see the operation, along with the doctor there were several people in the room — 4, I think.
I chatted with the doctors and nurses the whole way through. Here are snippets of some of the conversations:
Doc (pinching my middle finger to make sure it’s completely numb): Can you feel this? Me: Actually yes, just a little. Doc: OK, let’s put a little more numbing medicine in that one. How about this index finger? Me: No, I don’t feel anything on that one. Doc: Good. We’ll start on this one while the numbing on the other one is progressing.
Nurse (scrubbing my lower arm and entire hand including all of my fingers): We are just going to get you good and clean to avoid any chance of infections. Me: Thank you.
Doc: I’m putting a rubber cover over your nearby finger for protection. Me: Thank you.
Doc: OK, we are finishing up on this finger. I’m going to stitch it up and then we’ll start on your other one. Me: I appreciate the play-by-play as you are operating. It’s very helpful and comforting.
Me: Do you have a preference for the days you work in the office seeing patients as opposed to the days that you’re here doing surgery? Doc: I like a mix of both, really. I enjoy spending time with patients figuring out what’s causing their pain, and I enjoy surgeries, too. This is my favorite kind of surgery, though, where the patient is awake and we can have a conversation.
Me: My husband and I are getting to the age where some of our doctors are retiring, like Dr. Edwards where you work. I saw him 18 years ago to look at my finger, and now he’s retired. Doc: And his son is working with us now! Nurse (I think his name was Peter): And his son is very good, too. Me: Dr. Wyker did my knee replacement and my husband’s hip replacement. He’s probably getting ready to retire, too. Nurse: I used to work in Dr. Wyker’s office! Good guy. Me: He’s probably been on a few vacations in the Caribbean off of our joint-replacement money alone.
Me: Where is your favorite place to vacation? Doc: There is a ranch in Wyoming that my family likes to go, generally once every other year. Me (sort of joking): A dude ranch? Doc: Well yes, it is a dude ranch. We like to ride horses, it’s peaceful and quiet there, and I like to sit on the porch and read — and just relax.
Doc: What do you do to fill your days in retirement? Me: I read a lot. I read 102 book in 2022, and I’m close to 30 so far in 2025. Also, I spend at least 8 hours a day on the computer — a lot of that time writing. I was a writer and editor for a living, and I still write something every day. I write three 50-word stories around a theme every Wednesday, keep a sentence-a-day diary, and blog about observations I make during my day. In fact you’ll probably be in my blog one day this week. Doc: Ha! That’s great. About how many people, would you say, read your blog? Me: 4.
(Laughter all around.) Me: I’m sorta joking, but it’s not a lot. You aren’t going to go viral or anything.
(Chuckles all around.) Me: My husband and I also occasionally take walks downtown, take 5 or 6 pictures each, and then sit on our front porch with a cocktail (or two) and write haikus about them. Real renaissance men. Doc (and others listening in the room): That’s neat.
Doc: We’re finishing up now. I’ll stitch up this second finger, and then we’ll get you out of here and into the recovery room. Me: Thank you. All of you have been great, and I appreciate each one of you.
All-in-all, it was a great experience. I was only in the recovery room for 15 to 20 minutes and then wheeled out to the car in a wheelchair, which was required because I had had a Valium. Bob drove us home. I get these bandage monstrosities removed in 5 days, so Monday 3/31/25.
Local anesthesia needle tracks
Wrapped up tight
If you’re the type who enjoys watching live surgery, here is a video of what they did. Note: This is not my surgery. As the image denotes, you have to watch it over on YouTube. To do so, click the “Watch on YouTube” link in the image. It’s 4½ minutes long.
We had dinner with our friends Sherry and Fred at Baby Kay’s Cajun Kitchen in Mesa, AZ. John and Sherry met on an ambassadorial trip in October of 2008 to Beijing, Guilin, and Shanghai. We don’t see each other #IRL often, but like this time, it’s always a great visit.
My husband’s brother, Tommy, celebrated his 75th birthday, and we flew in to attend a surprise party for him. His brother Jimmy and his wife Cindy hosted the gala, and I met a nephew for the first time who also flew in for the occasion. Bob made the birthday cake.
We met grade-school friends of my husband for lunch one day. I was Facebook friends with one of them, so it was great to meet her in person. Bob and I enjoyed a bruschetta board, which was fantastic — second only to the company we enjoyed dining al fresco at Postino’s.
(Tommy’s 75th surprise birthday party @ Cindy & Jimmy’s in Scottsdale)
• Catered sandwich platters (roast beef, turkey, & ham on white bread and tuna on croissants)
• Cindy-made salads: one curried sweet potatoes & other veggies, one broccoli & other veggies)
• Bob’s Best. Ever. Banana. Cake. (among other desserts like brownies & lemon bars)
Bob adopted Vincent, whose full name was Vincent St. Patrick McVeigh, on St. Patrick’s Day.
Here’s a pic we took of him one St. Patrick’s Day and one we took yesterday as Bob wore Vincent’s bow tie for our front-porch happy hour with the theme from Rocky blasting by the street while we cheered on the Pelagic Run Club runners as they passed by our house.
Our neighborhood has an annual chili party that’s been going on for more than 25 years. It has a theme each year, and medals are awarded for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place in each category of meat and vegetarian. They also added a category for cornbread this year!
This year’s theme was Dune: The Spice Must Flow, and Bob made an Irish chili, and named it “Howya Dune?” And he won 3rd place in the meat category!
This is his third 3rd place medal in 15 years:
And noticing that they’re in 5-year intervals, he wrote this haiku about the feat:
Third place chili thrice
They were each 5 years apart
Twenty-thirty next
Capturing for posterity:
The 2015 theme was “Eat Local Chili” and Bob’s chili was named: “Bob’s Beanless Batch.” (Context: I don’t like beans, so Bob made the bold choice to make his entry this year without them.)
The 2020 theme was “Passport to Chili” and Bob’s chili was named: “PORCH-uguese Chile.” (Context: The chili entries in crockpots are set up on tables on the Watkins’ wraparound porch, and John is half Portuguese.)
The 2025 theme was “Dune: The Spice Must Flow” and Bob’s chili was named “Howya Dune?” (Context: Bob is part Irish and “Howya?” is how Irish people say “How are you?” and “Dune” of course is intimating “doing.”)
I’m proud of what a great and dedicated cook Bob is, and I’m thrilled when he’s recognized by others for his efforts. Congratulations, Bob!
We got one of Costco’s 10-lb spiral ham when it was on sale for $10 off — marked down from $25 to $15.
Bob made some delicious ham salad from some of it, and for lunch today, he prepared some romaine lettuce to make ham salad lettuce wraps with. So good.
We recently went through our old passports and driver’s licenses, and Bob took my 3 old passport photos and made refrigerator magnets out of them. He did the same with 2 of his old passport photos and one old college picture. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
This is a snapshot of the current “freezers inventory,” which Bob uses to inform our menus for the upcoming week. We have a standalone upright freezer (denoted as ↓) and the regular freezer that’s part of our refrigerator (denoted as ↑).
I don’t like salmon, and Bob only cooks it when I’m not home—usually when I’m away for a few days or so—so he doesn’t have to listen to my whining about how “the place smells like fish.”
But he had a hankering for some salmon patties today, and he cooked them in spite of my being here. When I didn’t smell anything after several minutes, I jokingly asked if he took our (over-the-stove, built-in) microwave out to the porch, to which he said, “Nope.”
I went outside to find it was actually the air fryer, and not on the porch, which is right outside our kitchen door, but out onto the deck and as far away from the house as possible.
Our screen-in porch
just off the kitchen
Air fryer banished as far away
from the house as possible
Close-up of the air fryer outdoor-
cooking the offensive chordate
