Wow! It’s hard to believe we brought this little guy home 14 years ago. He brings so much joy to our family. We love taking him on vacations (when we can), enjoy camping with him, and cherish every moment spent together around the house.
Last night, I took him on a birthday-eve walk, and he had a great time. I’m trying to take him on more walks lately—he gets so excited just to be outside. It’s a simple joy that never gets old.
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| Campsite at Eisenhower State Park |
I was at a conference in Pittsburg, KS, from Tuesday through Thursday, so we planned to start our camping trip Thursday night after I returned. We loaded up the car and arrived at our campsite around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. Erin and Carrie joined us but had to work the next day, so they helped set up the tents and even got the fire started before heading back to Topeka. Greg and I stayed behind to enjoy the evening by the fire.
Carrie and I had picked up Hog Wild BBQ in Topeka before heading out, so we had that for dinner. Erin and Carrie ate with us before leaving. Greg and I spent the night around the campfire, and it turned out to be the best night of the weekend. The sky was clear, and we could see stars all the way down to the horizon. We stayed up late talking, listening to music, and soaking in the camping life.
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| Walking Along the Bank |
We watched Washburn Tennis compete in the Final Four in Florida. They won 4–0, which made for an exciting morning. The afternoon was lazy—reading, checking emails, and listening to music. The Royals were scheduled to play that evening, likely around the time the ladies would arrive.
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| Oliver Relaxing |
Saturday was a day of relaxing, listening to music, and watching/listening the finals of Washburn Tennis and Royals baseball. We took a few walks around the site with Oliver, who loved it and did his best to protect us from other campers. We love our spot because it’s relatively secluded.
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| Carrie and Oliver by the Lake |
Dinner was chicken fajitas—so good! As is often the case with camping, we forgot one important item: the propane connector for the Firedisc. Thankfully, we had our two-burner stove, which we thought we’d use the next morning and night, so we were able to cook the meal. It turned out to be a fun evening!
Our guests left just after sunset, and we gathered around the fire. Rain was in the forecast, and unfortunately, it arrived earlier than expected. We moved everything under the canopy and tried to enjoy the evening there. I ended up falling asleep in a chair holding Oliver. It was an earlier night than planned, with everyone heading to their tents.
It started raining Saturday evening and didn’t stop until Sunday afternoon. Both couples were stuck in their tents through the night as the rain poured. Eventually, we got out when we received a text from Erin and Greg saying they were out for a drive. We joined them and took Oliver along to explore other lakes and campsites.
We decided this would be our last day camping, as more rain was forecast for Sunday night into Monday. After returning from our drive, we slowly began packing up. It was disappointing, but we all agreed it was the right decision. Thankfully, the rain stopped while we packed, which made things easier.
Once the cars were loaded, we headed back to Topeka, a bit down about ending early. We had planned to have pancakes for breakfast and steaks for dinner—neither of which happened. When Carrie, Oliver, and I got home, we unloaded the car into the garage and ended up napping through the afternoon and into the evening.
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| Camp Fire and Laptop |
Despite the early end, it was a great trip. As usual, we were tired from camping, so we spent the day relaxing. Oliver slept wherever he flopped down. He had a great time—he smiled the whole trip. Even during Saturday night’s thunderstorm, he didn’t seem scared, at least not that we could tell. He even tried to protect us from a dog across the way. I’m sure he was dreaming of his camping adventures while he rested.
We’re already thinking about our next trip. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend—and a great week ahead!
As the rain gently falls this Memorial Day, it serves as a quiet reminder of the solemn meaning behind the holiday. While many see today as the unofficial start of summer, it is, above all, a day to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.
May the weather not dampen your time with loved ones, but instead offer a moment of reflection and gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy.
“Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.”
— Barack Obama
It’s been a busy week for me with a conference I attended in Pittsburg, KS. I worked on Monday, then drove to Pittsburg on Tuesday. I was there from Tuesday through Thursday with a packed schedule full of meetings and presentations. Everything went really well! By Wednesday night, I was so tired after a full day of meetings that I just lounged in my hotel room watching shows—and I was asleep by 10:30.
While I was away, Carrie sent me a few pictures of Oliver enjoying the backyard. The image to the right shows him soaking up the sun while lounging in the yard. She also sent a picture of him chasing a rabbit—oh, the joys of being a dog!
This was my second conference in just a few short months. At both events, I heard about a site called NoteBookLM from Google. I first came across it at eLive back in April but hadn’t had much time to explore it. After hearing about it again at this conference, I decided to give it a try.
If you haven’t checked out NoteBookLM, I highly recommend it. You can upload a technical manual, notes, or other information, and the site can turn it into a podcast, a FAQ, or even allow you to chat live with an AI about the content. I tested it using my own website (https://blogger.haverty.net/) to see what it would do with my blog content. It turned my site into a podcast summarizing the past few months of posts. You can listen to the podcast generated by NoteBookLM below.
It did a great job scanning my site and summarizing what I post about each week. The audio file above was generated by NoteBookLM as if two (fictional) hosts were doing a podcast about my blog. I thought it was really cool and wanted to share it—not just because it was fun, but because it’s amazing how NoteBookLM uses AI to turn content into something so accessible and engaging.
Until next time, have a great week!
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| Oliver in front of Our Tent |
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| Sunset at Our Camp Site |
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| Lights at Night |
Saturday was a lazy day, which was nice. We had cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Most of the day was spent lounging, reading, listening to music, and taking a few naps. We took Oliver on a few walks around the site, which of course got the other dogs—and Oliver—barking and protecting their space. We also walked up to the camp host site to get ice and firewood, which was a nice little stroll.
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| Hanging with Oliver |
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| Our Hammock Set up |
We arrived back home Sunday afternoon, and both Carrie and I slept most of the day and went to bed early that evening. Sitting around and doing nothing sure makes me tired! I think Oliver is still catching up on his sleep a week later.
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| Oliver in Wagon |
Have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week!
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| Carrie and me at Wedding Reception |
Carrie and I attended a wedding reception a few weeks ago. The picture to the left is a selfie we took at the reception. We had a great time celebrating and did a lot of dancing too. It was a good party at a cool spot just outside of Topeka. I had never been to or heard of The Brownstone. It's a great spot for a party, and we all had a fantastic time.
Today has been a combination of exercise and getting some things done around the house. This morning at 11 am, I did my weekly bike ride on the Peloton with Ally Love. Following my bike ride, I took Oliver on a mile walk, which is one of his longer walks in a while. He was so excited! I told Carrie I am going to try and take Oliver on a walk following each time I do a bike ride. After the walk with Oliver, I mowed the backyard and did some picking up in the front and back by blowing things off the driveway and back patio. The main reason for doing so is to prevent Oliver from tracking oak tree debris into the house. Finally, after mowing, I took our glass that had been overflowing for a while to the recycling area.
It is beautiful out today, so after I finished my tasks, I told Carrie I was surprised she was not sitting out in the hammock. The next thing I knew, Carrie was headed out to the hammock with Oliver. Meanwhile, I am inside watching the Royals hit a home run franchise record. We are up 11-6 in the bottom of the 9th against the Orioles. Both sides have been hitting a lot of home runs, but in the last inning, the Royals set a franchise record for the most homers in a game.
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| New Work Picture |
About a week ago I had a new profile picture taken for work. I had been using the same picture for I am not sure how long. I am presenting at a conference in May, so I needed to provide a higher resolution picture which prompted me to reach out to our campus photographer who took about two dozen pictures of me. In the end, I picked the one to the right.
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| Old Profile Picture |
Another somewhat rambling post on this Sunday afternoon. I am happy to report that the Royals won 11 - 6 and won the series against the Orioles. For me, I am headed outside to enjoy the weather. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a fantastic week!
To start, we have a few camping trips booked for the year. I'm excited to get out and camp again and hoping to do more than we did last year. If my memory is right, we only camped twice last year. It was one of our lowest times camping since we started in 2021. We have a new spot booked for our first trip this year. More on where we are headed after we go camping. For the first trip, we are not planning to take Oliver as it could still be chilly in the evenings, but for the second trip, we plan to take him with us.
After traveling consecutively for four months, I'm not planning to fly anywhere anytime soon. I will be traveling to Pittsburg, KS in mid-May, but no flights anywhere. I traveled twice for two different conferences (Chicago and Orlando) for work and then twice with Carrie (Austin and Miami) for fun. I must admit that I enjoy flying. I look forward to the whole process, from getting up early to connecting flights. I have some flight watches going to track flights to different places in case a good deal pops up for Carrie and me to make a quick trip to another city.
Changing over to sports, my Royals started off doing well and then stumbled for a few weeks, going on a losing streak. We are back in Kansas City and playing well against the Astros. We are back to .500 at 14-14, which is good. It did not look good a few weeks ago when we could not get a run to save our lives. Hoping this trend continues and having fun doing so against the Astros.
Two weeks ago was, of course, the Masters. Wow! What a fun final day that was, and I'm happy for Rory McIlroy to finally win this one after coming so close for so many years. Yes, I enjoy watching golf, although I no longer play. I like to tune in to watch, and this was a Masters final day not to miss. Back and forth the whole day. It was a lot of fun!
Looking at my reading for the year, I am six books in so far for the reading challenge. I set 20 books as my target to complete for the year, so I am 6 out of 20. Doing pretty good so far, and it helped to finally finish two books while I was traveling for vacations and conferences. I do need to pick up the pace a bit on my current book as I am back to only reading a few pages, sometimes a few sentences, before I go to sleep. I need to bring my book down to the family room and read again while watching shows or sports. I am feeling good about my progress so far and hoping to hit the twenty-book target by the end of the year.
That is all for this rambling post on a Sunday morning. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week. I will talk to you again next week.
Happy Easter, everyone! 🌷
The forecast today in Topeka is rain all day long, but that won't dampen our spirits. We're headed to Lawrence to spend the day with my mom. Unfortunately, my sister Jen had to change her plans due to the weather and won't be coming up from Wichita. We'll miss seeing Jen and Kent this Easter.
Despite the rain, I'm looking forward to Munchers Bakery donuts on Easter morning, Bloody Marys, and other delicious treats. It's been a while since the family has all been at Mom's, so it promises to be a wonderful day. Spending Easter 2025 in Lawrence is something I'm truly excited about.
I hope you all have a fantastic Easter. Stay safe and enjoy the day. Keep an eye out for those little bunnies bouncing around delivering eggs! 🐰🥚
May your Easter be filled with joy, love, and the promise of new beginnings.
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| Coffee and Breakfast |
What a great weekend! Saturday morning found Carrie and me at Circle Coffee for a late breakfast and coffee. I had not been to Circle Coffee in a few months, so it was good to be back. We sat on the patio to enjoy the beautiful morning. After coffee, we headed to the hardware store to get some things. We needed to repair the hammock so that we could get it working and ready for the spring weather. We also needed to pick up some items to hang pictures in my office at work. It was a productive morning for us, which was good.
Carrie helped hang pictures in my office that I moved into back in December. I had not had a chance to hang any pictures and wanted Carrie to help with the process. I also took the opportunity of a Saturday in the office to clean out two boxes that I had not cleaned out since moving into my new office. It looks much better now.
After finishing up the hanging of pictures and putting things away at my office, we headed home. Carrie and Oliver spent some time in the hammock after we got it hung up and working properly. Oliver gets so excited when either one of us heads out to the hammock.
Saturday night, Carrie wanted to go to Free State in Lawrence, so we headed there around five for dinner. We had not been to Free State in a long time, so it was good to have dinner and some delicious Free State beer. Carrie picked Free State for her birthday celebration. Good pick! We enjoyed a few Cyclist beers and a wonderful meal. We picked up Erin and Greg on our way to Lawrence and met Joan and Eddie there for dinner. After dinner, Erin, Greg, Carrie, and I went out in Lawrence and had a good time. It was busy in Lawrence. We finished the evening at John Brown Underground, which Carrie and I had been to previously, but Erin and Greg had not. Fun spot with interesting drinks.
A good Sunday so far with me riding this morning on Peloton, and
after the bike ride, I mowed the lawn for the first time this year. It
was good because I was able to talk to the neighbors to the east and
south of us, as we had not seen each other in a few months with all the
cold and nasty weather. It was good to be able to catch up with both.
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| Oliver in his Bed |
I leave you with a photo of Oliver in our backyard that Carrie took earlier this week when I was on my way back to Topeka after being out of town. He loves his bed and he loves hanging out in the backyard, especially if Carrie or I can be out there with him. If we go inside, he wants inside and then wants to go right back out to the backyard. It is a vicious cycle of in and out with him and our backyard.
Have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week.
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| View from Plane |
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| Hotel Pool View for Afternoon |
Exploring Miami Beach The next day found us in Miami Beach for breakfast at Cortado Cafe and Coffee House, where we ate breakfast, read, and I did some brief work. It's a popular spot for breakfast or coffee. We enjoyed our time on the corner watching people, and the food was great!
We were close to an Apple Store, as Carrie needed to stop by for an issue she was having with her Apple Pencil. After the Apple Store, we walked along the shops before deciding to grab a quick bite and drink at Oh! Mexico, where we had an appetizer and drinks. Actually, we had one appetizer and three drinks. It was an expensive bill for just an app and drinks, but it was good. It's a good spot to sit on the patio and people-watch while we snacked and drank.
Las Olas Cafe We ate at some good spots this day, including Las Olas Cafe, which serves Latin-style food. It was so good that we went back again the next day to get coffee.
Cortado Cafe and Coffee House The next day found us in Miami Beach for breakfast at Cortado Cafe and Coffee House, where we ate breakfast, read, and I did some brief work. It's a popular spot for breakfast or coffee. We enjoyed our time on the corner watching people, and the food was great!
Oh! Mexico After the Apple Store, we walked along the shops before deciding to grab a quick bite and drink at Oh! Mexico, where we had an appetizer and drinks. Actually, we had one appetizer and three drinks. It was an expensive bill for just an app and drinks, but it was good. It's a good spot to sit on the patio and people-watch while we snacked and drank.
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| Stone Crab from Stiltsville |
Other items we had from Stiltsville Fish Bar...
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Crab Cake from Stiltsville Fish Bar |
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Fish for Dinner From Stiltsville |
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Crab Cakes from Stiltsville |
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Key Lime Pie from Stiltsville |
Following dinner, we headed to a nearby brewery where we could have some drinks while I watched the Washburn Ichabods on ESPN+ in the Final Four of the NCAA D2 basketball tournament. It was a good spot to watch the game on my phone while having some good drinks. Unfortunately, the Ichabods ran into a good team that went on to win the NCAA D2 championship.
Priority Boarding and Perks
Friday morning found us headed to port to board the Virgin Voyages
cruise line. Carrie and I were so excited to be on vacation and headed
to our second cruise with Virgin Voyages. For this cruise, Carrie and I
decided to sign up for more events than we did on the first trip. I’m
glad we did, as we signed up for a painting class (more on this later), a
spin class, morning meditation, and we went to both ports where we had
originally thought we would remain on the ship. Again, I’m glad we
signed up for more things, and for the most part, we stuck to the areas
we signed up for.
Top Deck and Ready to Deport
The process of getting aboard was easy as we had priority boarding, which included a "Splash of Romance" that got us some Champagne along with some other perks we enjoyed. Virgin added some new options that could be ordered before leaving port, which included a bucket of beers, a bucket of Moscow Mules, and I also ordered premium WiFi so I could watch the basketball games I was hoping would take place on Saturday. The new additions of being able to have buckets of drinks waiting for us when leaving port were great!
Pink Agave One thing I do not like about the Virgin Voyages app is that after the cruise ends, I cannot go into the app to see what we did or details about what we ordered. Everything ends except the home button on the app. However, I think I can remember the places we ate and call those out here.
Pink Agave is my favorite of the places we ate. This was our second time eating at Pink Agave, as the restaurants are similar between ships. Pink Agave has good drinks, the food is outstanding, and the wait staff is on point with recommendations, answering questions, and being attentive to our needs while we eat.
The Wake
The Wake is another favorite on the trip. We went here twice, once for
breakfast and then for dinner. It’s at the rear of the ship with large
windows that look out over the ocean as we leave a wake in the water.
Seafood Dinner at The Wake
Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle is another good place to eat on the ship. We went here our first night and had a good meal along with drinks.
Extra Virgin Our least favorite spot on the ship, both this voyage and our first voyage in 2023, is Extra Virgin. It’s an Italian place to eat aboard, and just like our first voyage, our experience lacked at Extra Virgin. The waiter took a while to greet us, get our drinks, and seemed burdened by our questions. We had the same experience on our first voyage too with Extra Virgin, where the food was alright, but the attention to detail or being there to answer our questions was lacking.
The Galley We did eat a few times in The Galley. It’s always a spot that is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks, and we stopped by there most days while aboard. We liked to check their daily special to see what was available and found some good things to eat in The Galley.
The Pizza Place Finally, not mentioning The Pizza Place would be remiss. Another place that is open throughout the day and late into the night, we stopped by to get pizza a few times, which was very good.
Painting & Boozy Bevvies
We signed up for Painting & Boozy Bevvies, which I will admit, I was
a little anxious about doing. We had a great time. Champagne was being
served, and they walked us through painting with watercolors.
Truthfully, I was surprised how well mine turned out, where I can
actually see the sun reflecting off the water. We sat at a fun table
with other sailors and had good conversation.
Carrie on Left, Mine on Right
Spin Class The spin class I attended was a lot of fun. The class totally kicked my butt, but it was worth it and made me feel good to work out while enjoying food, drinks, and snacks throughout the day while aboard. The class was packed, and I only did one spin class, but I would sign up for classes on our next trip.
Dominican Republic
As I mentioned earlier, we did make it into both of the two ports where
we stopped. At the Dominican Republic port, we stayed at the resort pool
off the ship and had a wonderful day. We found a nice spot with some
shade to spend the day and enjoy the pool. There was a lazy river too,
which we did, but we ended up getting out about halfway through as it
was a long experience.
Selfie at Pool in Dominican Republic
Bahamas: Virgin Voyages Beach Club at Bimini
The other port we stopped at was in the Bahamas at the Virgin Voyages
Beach Club at Bimini. This was our second time at Bimini. This time,
though, we got there early around 9 am and had a great spot in front of
the beach. It was an enjoyable day spent at the beach, and again we
enjoyed good drinks, delicious food, as well as reading and snoozing.
Wonderful day spent at the beach.
Bahamas Port
Leaving the Ship The last day aboard the ship was Wednesday, April 2. It was a sad day as we were leaving the ship and our vacation was ending. The process to exit the ship was the easiest it has ever been on any ship. We were off the ship and headed to the airport within thirty minutes. The fun had only started, though, as our flights were changed because of weather. We ended up not getting home until Thursday, with our Wednesday night flight being canceled.
Looking Forward to the Next Cruise
We had a great time on our trip and thoroughly enjoy Virgin Voyages. We
are not sure when we will be sailing again, but we do want to go again
on Virgin Voyages.
Selfie in front of Virgin Voyages Ship
See all photos from our trip on Flickr.
Seems like another day to post about nothing. Whatever comes to mind as I type away on this Saturday afternoon. March Madness is coming to an end, baseball has started, and golf is happening. It is a good time to be a sports fan and watching everything that is happening in the world of sports.
Speaking of sports, the Washburn Ichabods had a great season! We had so much fun following them this year and attending the home games. I watched them play in the Final Four of the NCAA D2 tournament on Thursday night. We ran into a buzz saw of a team from Nova Southeastern University. NSU was really good and we did not get a good start to the game. It was a sad way to end the season, but what a wonderful season it was, going 30-4 for the season.
I did my first run this morning after not having run in the past year. I have been doing bike rides, but I have not been running. I enjoyed the run, but my legs are hurting this afternoon. I made the mistake of not stretching or warming up very much before the run, so my legs are a little tight. I am planning to run again tomorrow although for not as long, so we will see how I am doing tomorrow morning when I try to run again.
To continue my writing on nothing, I am trying to finish my third book of the year. I hope to finish a book this week as I will spend some time reading. I only need about three hours to finish the book, so I think I can make that happen. We will see and if I am really good, I might be able to finish two books... One at a time though.
Short update for this week, that’s all at this time. I will plan to do a longer post next week. Have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week.
My reading journey has slowed a bit over the past month or two. I am
still reading every night, but my reading has dwindled from multiple
pages each night to just a few pages. Part of this lack of reading is due to being tired or staying up late and then trying to read. I enjoy the time I am able to spend reading, but I need to start making time to read during the day and not just keep it for when I am going to bed.
I am 67% through the book, and I am hoping over the next week or two I will be able to finish this one and mark it off my list. I think it will happen, so more on this in a later post.
This is an interesting story that caught my attention when I first saw it advertised back in 2023. A mother turning into a canine is an interesting tale of a mother who is lonely and exhausted, dealing with new things happening to herself and embracing those changes. I have not yet watched the movie, but once I am done with this book, I do plan to watch the movie.
Once I finish The Killer Angels and Nightbitch, I will go back to reading books relating to detectives or crime. Those are quick reads and I can usually get through them in a month.
If you have a book you enjoy, I would ask you to use the comments on this post to let me know the name of the book. I am always looking for books to add to my "to read" shelf.
Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you next week.
Yes, it is that time of year when the birds are chirping, spring training baseball is happening... oh, and it is March Madness. Are you ready? Looking for a free group to join to make your picks and show off your basketball knowledge? Or, show off your luck? Well, this is your chance.
I have been creating groups on ESPN for many years. This year, I did things a little differently. I created a public group allowing each participant to enter up to three entries. The idea is to get as many people and entries into the group as possible. In prior years, I required a password to join the group, but I decided to remove that limitation to encourage more participation.
While it is free to play on ESPN, you do need to have an account or create one. Once you are signed into your account, visit this link to join the group called Hoop Dreams Collective. No password is needed to join the group, and you can enter up to three entries. So, get started ahead of brackets going live so you are ready and join the group. Share with others and encourage them to join too.
Like past years, there are play-in games ahead of the tournament, so you need to have your picks entered by 10 am CDT on Thursday, March 20.
Have fun and enjoy the ride. This is one of the best times of the year to watch non-stop basketball, with MLB baseball about to start and golf on every weekend.
