Sometimes when the sun is just right, these little orchids look so soft and pretty. Click image to enlarge.

Cooked up on the grill this afternoon. Man, was this good. Verna will be making Marc Antony salads for my lunch this week with the leftovers. I am the luckiest dude on the planet. Click image to enlarge.

According to WikiPedia:

In the United States, this cut was typically used for ground beef or sliced into steaks until the late 1950s, when it became a local specialty in Santa Maria, California, rubbed with salt, pepper, and other seasonings, cooked over red oak wood and roasted whole on a rotisserie, smoked in a pit, grilled, or braised by putting a pot on top of a grill, browning the meat directly on the grill surface before and after the braising. (The tri-tip is still often labeled the “Santa Maria steak”.) Most popular in the Central Coast region of California, it has begun to enjoy increasing popularity elsewhere for its full flavor, lower fat content, and comparatively lower cost.

With red/orange highlights. Click to enlarge.

Shhhh! Don’t tell Mom Martin that we bought a pot of mums for her today. We’re going to surprise her tomorrow when we visit. Click image to enlarge.

This crassula falcata, nicknamed Morgan’s Beauty is also known as the Scarlet Paintbrush. This one has been coming out for a couple of weeks in the flower bed by the porch. They have a nice fresh smell, like a sea breeze. Click for full-size.

One of the items on my ‘things I need to do before I retire’ list was to obtain a copy of my Military discharge record (DD-214). While I was at it, I asked for the contents of my military personnel record, containing things like training records, performance records, enlistment agreement and so forth.

Right: cover letter and records

The records showed up last week, about six weeks after I sent the fax with my authorizing signature to the records center. I dug through the package - boy, was that a trip down memory lane. Page after page of forms and records documenting my time as a Sailor. Seeing my (immature 17 year-old) signature on the enlistment papers brought back that moment in time when I sat in the recruiting office and signed.

I was in the U.S. Navy (Naval Reserve, to be exact) for six years, three of those on active duty. I signed up when Eisenhower was in the oval office and mustered out when LBJ was busily ramping up the war in Vietnam.

I never regretted my military service to the country. My career benefited from military training in electronics and aviation plus the G.I Bill paid for much of my education. I have never had a problem finding employment, often working two jobs simultaneously (when I was much younger and ambitious).

If you’re a veteran or the immediate survivor of a veteran you can order these records online at The National Archives eVetRecs website. Ordering them is fairly simple; you will need to sign a form they email to you and fax it to them.

We still don’t know the name of these lovely little orchid clusters. We will be looking for these at the Orchid Show and Sale in October to try and identify them.

This one is growing on the patio from a clipping that I got from Mom. Click image to enlarge.