Places - Current and Past, and A Bit About Sleep

I was completely exhausted by dinner time last night, and declared that I was going to sleep right afterward, which I did. I didn't have to worry about kids coming to the door for Halloween. We used to get kids from the college nearby, but the Administration cracked down on that practice about a decade ago. So, unless we had signed up on the neighborhood e-list, we weren't going to get anyone at the door. So, I actually got a nice, restful sleep before awakening (before my alarm went off) and hitting the treadmill. 

The University of Northwestern St Paul is located north of 
my property. It spreads out quite a lot, however, and we only 
see the athletic field which isn't even in this photo. It's a 
lovely campus, and has a great reputation. 

I have always operated on about six hours of sleep. It's my standard, and it's what I build into my schedule. I do allow myself an extra hour on Sundays - luxury indeed - LOL. I can operate quite well on five hours, but four starts to push things a bit. And I can't do five hours for a long time - a few days will just about do it. Of course, I'm not exact on any of this - there's wiggle room. LOL

One of the things we'll be discussing at my Memory Class 
will be sleep cycles and brain restoration. I normally sleep 
about six hours or so, sometimes a bit less, sometimes 
an hour or so more. I know that the brain really needs those 
Stage 4 sleep times, and I suspect I'm not getting quite 
enough of those with my schedule. 

So, DH has lots of candy that he bought (and he knew he was buying it for himself, not to give away). He's set until Christmas now - LOL. I had a good virtual run through Utah this morning. My friend Ray Tracey had posted photos of himself at Arches National Park yesterday and I was a bit homesick, so I did a canyonlands run first which ended at Arches, then I switched to another Utah virtual for Valley of the Gods - another favorite place of mine. I love living in Minnesota - there's something really excellent about having water all around. But there are times when I really miss the desert Southwest. 

Arches National Park in Utah is one of the more spectacular 
national parks in the park system. There's just something about 
the Queen's Arch that everyone loves. Utah is a beautiful state, 
and it borders on Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, the 
other states that I have loved throughout my life. 

Oh, and did I mention my latest obsession? I've been playing a phone game called "Arrows" and I totally am addicted. It's challenging, fun, (and addictive. *sigh* All that I need in my life is another addiction - LOL.) I love it, and I highly recommend it as a way to waste a few minutes here and there. So, enjoy your weekend. If you're ending Daylight Savings tomorrow, don't forget to Fall Back and reset your clocks accordingly. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Old Friends and Memories - This and That

Happy Friday, everyone! It's a "day off" for me, so I'll be making my next batch of "Ogre Juice" and working on the computer. If it's a non-windy day, I might try out the drone again. BTW, the store tryout earlier in the week ended up with the drone crashed on top of one of my taller display cases - fortunately reachable without grabbing a step stool, but probably an experiment I won't repeat until/unless I get much better at controlling the little devil - LOL. 

I keep hoping for the perfect day to get some practice 
in with my drone. I might put it into the car, and if I have some 
time, drive to the park and try it out where I won't be hitting 
trees or people. 

I have stacks of paperwork that I have to work on today, and some longer-term projects that I'd like to wrap up (if it turns out to be possible). It's helpful to have goals, but "methinks I have too many of them". More or less. Still, my day started out with a lovely hour+ of meditation and my refrigerator is full of vegetable soup for the next week's meals, so all is golden. 

Yesterday was my ex-fiancee's birthday, so I sent him out a quick text. Seth and I are still friends - very good friends. He lives in the mountains of Colorado on a large tract of land framed by the mountains directly to his West. Ir's a gorgeous spot in the South-Central part of the lower quadrant of the state. Stunning scenery! He's got horses and dogs and his wife, Stephanie. He reads my blog (shout out!), and we keep in nominal touch. I sometimes wonder how very different my life would have been had I chosen him to marry instead of DH, but that's a choice long gone and I'm having a good, if frustrating, life up here in the Frozen Northlands with DH. 

Seth used to travel a lot for his job, and we were able to get together for drinks or just to meet and chat for a few hours if he was passing through anyplace where we both were at. We reconnected while he was on the road crew for a specific singing star (I truly forget who it was - but is was an impressive name). I was in Milwaukee for the Bead & Button Show, and he was passing through Milwaukee for a two-night concert with this musical star. I actually broke my arm that day, so I was in a lot of pain, but I couldn't NOT see him for drinks in the lobby of my hotel when he was able to get away from set-up for a few hours. We've stayed in touch ever since, and I'm very grateful to have his friendship. I've had two extraordinary men in my life (and several who are best tossed into the dust bin - LOL). I've been quite lucky, even if DH often frustrates me. 

Speaking of DH, he worked in the yard yesterday, and got the fallen fencing cut up. We'll reuse the vertical boards for the compost bin, and the cross-pieces will have to be tossed. We're in a bit of a cold snap for the next few days, so I'm sure he'll be happy that he's working at the shop today. It'll only be a high of 41F  (5 C), so a bit chilly for outdoor work. We might even get a small flurry of snow, depending on where you are in the state. It's been a REALLY WEIRD WINTER all around - the "Winter That Wasn't". 

So I'll be trying to diminish the piles of paperwork that I have on my desk, pay some bills, do some computer work, and make Ogre Juice (which only takes an hour). I have an open day of possibilities ahead of me. SCORE!!! Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow on a more crowded early morning - LOL. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. (pictures are being a problem today, so it's an almost texT-only blog today. Sorry!)