"I've always thought that parallel parking was my main talent." - Calvin Trillin

There's bipartisan agreement - and the press are joining in - that Pres. George H.W. Bush was a good man and a better president than he got credit for.
He was defeated when running for a second term by Bill Clinton. "How did that work out?"
And think about their respective wives and their reputation as First Ladies.
Class and crass.
One was a strong woman who spoke her mind and did it with Southern grace.
The other was a southern woman who recently said there was no room for civility in politics.

I read on CNN.com today that when family and friends were reporting to each other the President's death they used the code word CAVU, which means Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited. That's a term pilots use to describe flight conditions, especially back when he was flying carrier missions during his time in the Navy during WWII.
I like that!

I went into Fred Meyer this morning to get walnuts and expected chaos on Dec. 1. It wasn't more than a normal Saturday and maybe even less crowded.
OK, admittedly I don't know much about what a grocery store looks like at any hour of any day.

I'm expanding my baking/dessert repertoire and my next effort is going to be "walnut squares." Mom made those often, especially at Christmastime IIRC. They're pretty rich and lemony, an interesting combo. That's why I needed the walnuts.
I think my next step will be a merengue pie. Pam says merengue is easy but I keep hearing it described as tricky. Too much beating and it gets too stiff, not enough and it's runny.
We'll see.

Because I had a meeting mid-morning Thursday I didn't get my weekly "Dizzy Donuts" cheat in. So this morning I drove in for my big ol' cinnamon roll and coffee while I read in "Move."
Many of Dizzy's customers are not restricting themselves to one cheat per week.

I drove Sally to the gym this afternoon, about the third or fourth time I've had her out. Each has been a short trip of about 20 miles round trip, but enough to convince me this new engine is strong. The car accelerates better and runs smoother.
Plus, when I put it in gear the transmission works!
I have a few minor things I want to tend to. The idle needs to be just a skosh higher and the choke knob has developed an annoying rattle that's really a buzz. It just needs an adjustment that will take less than five minutes.
And the stock wheels and wheel covers make Sally look less trashy, more classy.

It's been a brutal month financially but with care we should have recovered by the end of January. Maybe I'll be able to show Sally some love in February.