Sometime after my maternal grandfather (Claude Perry) died in 1951, my grandmother moved to the town where we were living. She purchased a little house about a block from our own and did a lot of after-school child care as my brother and I were growing up. Many fond memories.
My brother’s 50th High School Class Reunion was this past weekend and he and his wife attended and stopped by “grandmother’s house.” The years have taken a toll.
Barb’s iPhone put this little video together. 
Barb and her friend, Lisa, braved the long lines to fly to Europe overnight. These photos were taken (by someone) in the cabin of a JetBlue plane. According to Claude their seats are in JetBlue Mint, their business class product.
“The seats are lie-flat, converting to a roughly 6’8” bed. The privacy dividers between seats are what you’re seeing in both photos — they can be raised or lowered. The suite-style pods have a sliding door for full privacy on some configurations (the “Mint Suite”), though these look like the standard Mint seats without the door. The cabin has that signature blue mood lighting JetBlue uses — pretty distinctive and instantly recognizable.”
“The transatlantic product is notable because JetBlue positioned Mint as a direct competitor to legacy carrier business class at a significantly lower price point when they launched transatlantic routes (JFK to London, Paris, Amsterdam). The menu in photo 2 appears to say “Transatlantic” on it, and mentions what looks like a Charlie Bird partnership for the food program.”
“Practical details: Mint includes a decent amenity kit, good Wi-Fi (JetBlue’s Fly-Fi has a strong reputation), and the food program has been well-reviewed compared to comparable seats on legacy carriers.”
A few days in Amsterdam then on to Paris. Part of our Die Broke strategy.
A few days ago one of Barb’s friends asked asked about singing telegrams. Something she could order online and email for a birthday. (Barb’s sister). I suggested she use an AI to create an original song. She sent a beautiful note which I uploaded to Claude.ai which promptly turned around some lyrics.
I uploaded those to Suno which cranked out the tune below:
“A slow twelve-bar in the key of seventy years.”
“She’s my sister from another mister. The soother of my soul.”
PS: I played the song for two people, both of whom didn’t care for it. I thought is was perfect.
I think Barb is planning to use this for the greeting card. These took a lot longer when Barb had to frame the shot, hit the timer button, and scurry around to get in the shot. Used the AirPods remote for this but was unable to erase the AirPod.
I think the idea behind this pose was to recreate one by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
It has been a few years since my brother and I were able to get together and last week’s visit was nice. Barb and I were quickly surprised by how both of our dogs took to Blane in a way we had not seen before. With anyone.
With no prompting, Riley climbed into Blane’s lap just as she does when Barb sits in that chair. And as she has never done for me. Even with treats. My brother doesn’t have a dog and is clearly not a “dog person,” so this behavior remains a mystery.
And for those who ask, “How has your older dog adapted to the new pup?…
