Even though I'm "retired," I keep getting drawn back into my old technology life. This week the National Science Convention was in Denver, so I went downtown to see my old boss. Their products haven't really changed much in the past few years, but their dress code certainly has. When I was working conventions, we were NEVER allowed to wear t-shirts. Times have certainly changed.
Before I went to the convention center, I stopped off at the Amante Coffee Shop in the Oxford Hotel to do a little sketching. It was fun to sketch an old building for a change. Out in the "burbs" everything is sleek and new (aka. boring to paint). This muffin and mocha were as good as they look!
Mid-morning I went for a second breakfast with my friend, Christine, from Portland, OR. I swear this woman never ages. She looks the same as when I met her 30 years ago. (Yikes, has it been that long???)
In keeping with this week's tech theme, I went to the Geek Club meeting where the president was demo'ing his latest invention - a pickleball scorekeeper. Not only does it display the score visually, but it also speaks it. The funny thing about this presentation was that most people understood the electronics and software involved in the device, but they had trouble understanding the rules of pickleball scoring. If you've ever played pickleball, you know what I mean.
The Denver Plein Air Painters had a meet-up at Tagawa Nursery on Saturday. I sketched a few of the plants, but then found this cute little gazebo. They were using rubber rain boots and plastic umbrellas as planters for spring flowers. Clever.
This week we also had our Social Committee meeting on Zoom. We have a contest going on in the neighborhood this month for the best snowman. With all the snow we've had, we're getting a lot of entries. First prize is a $150 AMC Movie Theater gift certificate. I thought about building my own snowman, but I haven't seen any movies that look appealing.
One of the bad things about living in an HOA neighborhood are all the ridiculous rules. We got cited this week for installing a storage container for our trash cans. Good grief, it's certainly better than looking at ugly trash cans (which is also technically illegal, but many of my neighbors keep theirs outside in the summer, because it really smells up the garage). We submitted an appeal, so we'll see if they let us keep it.
Charlie went to his 2nd dog training class. This week's command was "stay" - something I've already taught him. The only trouble with this class is that when the other owners throw treats out for their dogs to fetch, Charlie wants to run across the floor and pick them up. I have to really keep a tight grip on his leash.
Charlie also went to Doggie Day Care this week. They had an Easter egg hunt for the dogs. Charlie was a whiz at this, since he'll do anything for food.
