It's Going to be a Busy "Day Off" and the Eclipse, of Course!

I'm always grateful to hear from my online friends, and yesterday, one of my friends was posting photos they took when they experienced the eclipse at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - one of the largest venues in the stripe of darkest totality. It was absolutely magical for her and her wife, an experience of a lifetime. She said they were even able to lie down on the speedway track to watch the moon eat the sun, and during totality they were able to pull off their protective eyewear and see the sun in its' glory. Thanks for sharing, Liz! Much appreciated! 

There are some things to look for in a full solar 
eclipse - Bailey's Beads are one of those, and you 
can barely see those around the sun in this photo 
from CNN. Stunning, isn't it? 

How did you spend the eclipse? I'm afraid we were totally overcast here - nothing to be seen at all. Friends watched on television - I caught bits and pieces. It was quite remarkable. I remember other eclipses from younger days as being equally amazing, and I have never yet been in a totality. I rather doubt I'll actually be able to experience that darkest strip in my lifetime since I had to miss this opportunity, but I'm so happy for those of you who were able to view it in person, instead of on a television screen. 

Another thing that people specifically looked for 
during the solar eclipse was the "Diamond Ring". There 
is one on the ascent of darkness, and one on the retreat. 
Did you all see the guy in Vermont who proposed to his 
girlfriend just as the diamond ring was appearing for 
the second time on their viewing of the eclipse? It was 
truly magical for everyone, and they were a very 
happy couple. What a story to tell their children. 

Today will be a busy one. I'll be cooking, paying bills, doing laundry (load number one is washing right now), and of course will start the day out at the gym. Yard waste pickup starts today for us, and DH worked in the yard for most of yesterday, cleaning things up and marking areas off where he has bulbs coming up. The crocuses are getting eaten - deer, we suspect - but the rest of the bulbs seem to be coming up pretty well. He had a bucket full of yard waste ready for the weekly pickup, and another wheelbarrow filled for next week's pickup already. 

Except for the colors (all of our buckets are blue), this 
could be our curbside today. Trash, recycling and yard 
waste will all be collected today. I'll need to get the 
trash and recycling buckets out to the curb in about 
ten minutes here, so it's time to wrap this up. 

Today is my "day off" and I'll be filling it with cooking and housecleaning, laundry and maybe a serious dust. I also have a stack of things at my computer that need to be taken care of. *sigh* no rest for the wicked, I guess. I'll head out to the gym shortly and hit the pool. I really need a good swim today, and I'll be sharing the lane with Meg - my neighbor from down the street. She does spin on Tuesdays, but I share the lane with her on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We've managed it for quite a while now - she's a much better/faster swimming than I am, but we rarely get in each other's way. It's a dance that we all do with other people we interact with - in the water or on the ground. Life is a series of almost-accidents that don't happen because we all dance that intricate dance of "Keep Away" well. When we don't do it well, we bump into people. Oops! Sorry! LOL Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.