Death and Taxes - Aren't Those the Immovable Objects of our Lives?

Our income tax appointment last night was short and sweet. DH had everything together, I answered a couple of easy questions, we left everything with Paul and were on our way within 30 minutes. I remember the days of income tax preparation all too well. My Dad was an accountant and prepared income tax returns through his business (when he had a business), and then prepared them for family and friends after he "retired". Our lives revolved around the dates of March 15th and April 15th. 

We've been seeing Paul for our income taxes and tax 
advice for many years now. Before him, we saw my 
good friend Eleanor Anderson, who developed dementia 
and has since passed away. Paul is sharp, has a good 
sense of humor, and really knows his taxes and the law. 
Great guy! 

But everything went smoothly last night. We left the information with Paul and his office will call when everything is ready to pick up. Contrary to his usual policy, we're allowed to pick up our returns and look them over carefully before I'm sent off with payment for him. A benefit of having known him and done business with him for many years. 

I've been buying audio books from audible for more 
than two decades by now. Since they were taken over 
by Amazon, however, I have to use my credits up within 
a year or I lose them, and I've paid for them. I'm up 
against that wall now, so will have to make some 
quick choices about the next books I want to listen to. 

Audible is telling me my subscription is about to expire and I need to buy 12 audiobooks and download them before it expires or I'll lose my credits. ARGH. I have a list of books I want on audio, so choosing the books isn't the problem, it's just getting my act together to get it done. It's on my TBD for today, though. Along with laundry (already in progress), taking out the garbage (happening as soon as I leave for radiation therapy) and grocery shopping (on my way home from the radiology appointment). I'm pretty darned well organized for 5:50 am! LOL

It's always fun to catch up with Aearwen for the week. 
We've been chatting once a week (with some gaps 
for out of town visitors or trips, etc), for more than a decade. 
It's a great friendship and I love hearing what's been 
going on in her life. One of these days we'll have 
to try and meet in person. But since that would 
probably entail my having to fly to California, it's 
not happening anytime soon. LOL

I also have to get some bills e-paid today, cook dinner, and have a lovely chat with Aearwen later this afternoon. That's always a high point of my week, and we've been chatting weekly (with breaks for vacations out of town, visitors, and unexpected things) for many years. It's been a great friendship - my sister in a different state. I hope you have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Guppy Day and Thoughts About Tomorrow

As usual, it's a VERY busy "day off" today with a lot of items on my personal agenda. But, I start with swimming today, so it's a good day. It's always a good day when I'm in the pool. I had a new lane partner yesterday - a guy who was an unknown to all of us. He shared the lane just fine, but he was SLOW.  I swim with guys every now and then, and usually they leave me in their wake without any effort at all. Not this guy. I was lapping him pretty consistently. It made me feel good, even if it was false measurements. He was obviously newer to the sport. 

I do prefer to have my lane to myself, although I share 
when I have to. There aren't that many people who enjoy 
being at the pool at 5:00 am. My friend Rosemary usually 
shares with Gail, I often will be solo, and then, on Wednesdays, 
the "Three Amigos" are in the lane next to me. But I 
heard that one of the "Amigos" has moved to the East 
Coast. The "Three Amigos" may now be the "Two Amigos". 

I'm not thrilled with the book that I'm listening to while swimming, but I'm listening to the series, not just a single book, and I'm sure I'll love the next one, even if this one is "meh". Whether I like the story line or not, I do love the characters and the series, so I'll plod on through this one and be happy when I get the chance to load the next volume. Not every book can be a winner, even if the series is strong and the author is one I like. 

This volume of the series concentrates on a single 
secondary character, and frankly, I don't really care 
much about him. Still, I'll listen to the book and be 
happy when I can move on to the next volume in 
the series. 

It's rather like life, in some respects. We all know to treasure every day, love those we are fortunate enough to love, interact with friends and neighbors, and make the world a better place when we go to sleep than it had been in the morning when we had awakened. We know this - but it doesn't always happen this way. We sometimes come to the end of the day wondering what we did? Or being disappointed in our actions or inaction. But as the saying goes, "Tomorrow is another day" (rather hard to argue with). So take today, make it yours, and look back on the day as you settle down tonight with a feeling of "Yes, I am pleased with what I did today". It's not impossible, you can do it. 

Hopefully I'll get a good swim in today and get the myriad 
of items on my "To Do" list completed before evening. 
It'll be a busy one, but has the potential to be a very 
good one. I hope your day will be successful as well. 

So, as I'm off grocery shopping, working in the kitchen, and working some more on my next Etsy pages, I'll also be thinking about what needs to be accomplished over the next few days. I'll be setting my goals for the week. May they come to fruition - for me and for you. Have an excellent Wednesday, I'll be back tomorrow, and Slave Ukraini. 

A Hodge-Podge of Thoughts and Now It's DH's Turn for the Dentist

First off, congratulations to the Atlanta Braves baseball team for their World Series win. I didn't watch (I'm not much of a baseball fan), but it was a good series, hard fought, and the victory will mean a lot to Atlanta. I do wish they would change their name and have something less of a trigger than "Braves", but I assume eventually they will get on board and do that. 

I'm not much of a baseball fan (although if the Twins played 
better, I'd enjoy it more). However, winning the World 
Series is long, and difficult. Congratulations to the 
Atlanta Braves for their accomplishment this year. 

Last night, while watching the premier of Season 9 of Oak Island, DH popped a crown off one of his back teeth. I'll be calling the dentist today to see when he can get in to see her (he now has an appointment for 3:00 pm tomorrow). He has the crown (it's a gold one), and with luck, she'll be able to do a bit of cleaning and just reglue it back into position. 

He lost it from a back tooth, possibly similar to my own 
crown issue from a month ago. With luck, they'll be able 
to glue it back into place. 

I've been very happy with my AfterShokz Xtrainer bone conduction headphones and have been using them every day. I finished my latest book yesterday and wanted to download the next one in the series. I'm having nothing but problems with my conversion program. The headphones work fine and the book is downloaded appropriately, but to get it from Point A to Point B, it actually needs one more step - a conversion from one format to another. I have a program that does that conversion, and it seems to be working properly, but for some reason, I can't get the converted files loaded onto my headphones. I'm MORE than frustrated. Today's swim was made in silence - something I hate while I'm swimming. It's not the end of the world, but I want this resolved quickly. 

I'm not sure what's wrong with Rodney's car. He 
has an older model car that has plenty of room 
for his two Huskie Dogs as well as camping or 
day-tripping gear. Hopefully he can get it fixed 
soon and not expensively. Tattoo artists aren't 
rolling in the dough, so to speak. 

I was supposed to meet with my tattoo artist, Rodney, for a photo shoot today, but he had to cancel because of auto problems which are forcing him to take public transportation or Uber/Lyft rides. We'll get together once his auto problems have been resolved and deal with photos then. It's not the end of the world, my tattoo isn't going anywhere - LOL. 

I enjoy Spotify and use it a lot. Since I can't listen 
to my next book, I'll probably switch it on and enjoy 
dancing around the kitchen while prepping veggies. 

Today is a shopping day (Target, Whole Foods, my local grocery store) and a day in the kitchen. Since I won't have a book loaded, I'll use a set of earbuds and Spotify and have fun dancing my way around the kitchen. I only need to be careful around the knives. Hopefully I'll get in touch with Tech Support about my conversion program and get that resolved so that I can load my next book. I guess I'll have to take step-by-step notes for the next time. 

I'm not really a fan of winter - I don't mind the cold, but 
I do mind the extra work required by our snow. I'm also 
not fond of driving in the snow, or cleaning my car off  
after work before I can get back home. The occasional 
blizzard really sucks, too. Snow is beautiful, and when 
I don't have to be at work every day, I'll enjoy it, but 
right now, it's just a PITA. 

Have a totally excellent day. Anytime I'm in November and there's not a spec of snow in my area, it's a good day - LOL. Today we're too warm for snow, so we've dodged a bullet once again. I'll be back tomorrow. Please, be kind, stay positive, and if possible, do a random act of kindness for someone today. 

A Quiet Sunday - Books and Iced "Cream" Choices

It was a quiet day, yesterday, starting out with an hour of meditation, just because I could. No rush this Sunday. No Renaissance Festival to run to, no errands to do, just relaxing (with one load of laundry) and running out at 4:00 pm to get Chipotle for dinner. A day of football, some computer work, and preparing for swimming today and this week's schedule. Chickie will be taking a week off starting on Thursday, so making sure I can get my Alkagizers made and my schedule arranged was primary on my mental list. 

I finished "Crocodile on the Sandbank" 
yesterday, and loaded "The Curse 
of the Pharaohs" onto my new Aftershokz 
Xtrainerz bone induction headphones. 
I'm looking forward to these new headphones, 
and I'm hoping I have the volume set 
correctly, since I'm almost blind in the pool, 
and I'm concentrating on my stokes, 
not the controls of my headphones. 

There were a few things I needed to do. I wanted to finish Book 1 of my Amelia Peabody series, since I already had Book 2 loaded up on my new Xtranerz bone induction headphones. Those will be getting their first run in the swimming pool today, and I'm quite hopeful for some success with them. 

I've been a long-time fan of Janet Evanovich's 
Stephanie Plum series. I think I stopped listening/reading 
them when she reached Book 20 or so. I know she 
just released Book 28, apparently co-written with 
her son. I got frustrated with the character constantly 
vacillating between Joe Morelli and Ranger. Just 
make up your mind already! Me? I'm in the Ranger 
camp. There's something wonderful and somewhat 
dangerous about him that really appeals to me. 

Since I had Amelia Peabody loaded on my new underwater headphones (which I can also wear while on the treadmill if I want), I thought I'd put a different series onto my waterproof iPod, so I downloaded the first of the Stephanie Plum novels onto it yesterday afternoon. I don't own ALL of these books, but I do own at least the first 20 or so, so I have lots to listen to. Between Amelia Peabody and Stephanie Plum, I've got two really fun book series to listen to that will take me most of the way through 2022. 

Some of you may be dairy-sensitive, or have 
a desire for an iced cream that doesn't 
contain dairy. If that's you, here's a wonderful 
alternative iced cream that I highly recommend. 

I wanted to share a find with all of you. Since I had wonderful dairy-free ice cream at the State Fair, I was suddenly aware that there was such a thing - an iced 'cream' that would actually taste rich and wonderful and that wouldn't contain dairy products. I've been on a hunt ever since, and found two different brands at Whole Foods last week. One was meh - OK, but I don't think I'd repeat. The other ... OMG!!! So good!!! It's called "Nada Moo" and it's amazingly good. 

I think making a good vanilla iced dessert is the true 
test of any manufacturer. "Nada Moo" is spectacular - 
rich, creamy, good flavor, all the things I look for in 
an iced "cream". They have a lot of flavors too, although 
Whole Foods only carried three or four. Nada Moo does 
mail order, so I'll probably put an order together 
for next year. This year, I'll be just fine with the 
occasional pint. 

Nada Moo comes in a lot of different flavors but I tried a standard - Organic Vanilla Bean. I wanted to taste the ice cream, not the flavor, and see what I thought, and vanilla has always been my favorite flavor. It was AMAZING! I'm absolutely getting this again, and their other flavors too. The base of their iced 'cream' is coconut milk and they use agave syrup for their sweetener. Yes, it's a sugar, but it's not a refined sugar and in the realm of choices, it's a good choice (or not as bad as most sugars). Honey or pure maple syrup would be even better, but I can live with agave. So, I'm recommending this to those of you looking for an alternative non-dairy iced cream. Give it a try. I'll be getting this again. 

Time to do a little computer work before I head out to the gym and the pool. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back on Tuesday. 

Back Into the Pool, and My Friend Meg's Incredible Summer

I'm going back into the pool today,  and still trying to get my schedule and packing together so that I can dash in, dash out, take my shower, get dressed and hit the road efficiently. I'm still stumbling a bit, and not least because I'm still trying to nail my music/books and my routine. But, it's wonderful to even think about being back in the water again, so as the saying goes ... "I will persevere". 

I think I managed close to 1/2 mile on Monday. I'm going 
to try to do that, or maybe a bit more, again today. I'm 
just so happy to be going back to the pool again. Whether 
I can do my full mile or not ... I'll get there eventually. 

Today, after Monday's disappointing goggle mess, I'm bringing a set of goggles that I'm pretty sure work well for me, as well as a set of wired underwater headphones and my underwater iPod. I'll just continue to listen to the adventures of Amelia Peabody instead of tunes today and I'll be just fine. It's going to take several weeks of practice to get my morning routine back into shape, and I've got more goggles coming in (goggles, thank goodness, are the least expensive part of my swim gear), so I'll soon have lots of options for either a book or music for my morning swims. 

I think I have at least six different sets of 
underwater earbuds that I can use. They're 
not bone induction, so the sound isn't as 
good, but there's sound and something I 
want to listen to, and that's all I need for 
a successful workout. I'm hoping I'll 
have a productive swim, while Amelia 
and Emily leave and go south along 
the Nile towards Amarna. 

On Monday morning, as I was catching up with Rosemary, she mentioned that our mutual friend Meg had a stroke while swimming in the outdoor pool at the end of July. I had spoken to Meg while she was out walking her dogs, no more than three weeks prior to this, so it was a complete shock. Apparently she lost the ability to move her left arm while swimming with her usual group of friends, then also lost the ability to move her left leg. The YMCA contacted an ambulance and she was loaded up and taken away. 

I love my friends, and my swimming and 
exercise buddies at the YMCA are very 
dear to me. We lost John over the year off, 
and we miss him every time we're waiting 
at the door. But the rest of us are still there, 
still coming, and still swimming. It's a great 
group of people. 

But Meg was in the locker room for a 6:00 am swim time on Monday and we intersected. She said it was hard ... really hard, for her to come back from the stroke, but she fought like a crazy woman to get her mobility back, and that it had almost completely returned. There was a little bit lost in the top arc of her forward stroke, but she was still working on getting those muscles back to full function. Such an inspiration! When my mother-in-law had a stroke, she basically collapsed and was never the same again. She had been extremely sedentary, and the stroke made her one step away from being a total invalid. Meg, on the other hand, is one of the most active and athletic people I know, and she just refused to let her stroke get the best of her. I'm so happy she's almost recovered in slightly more than two months. 

I'm eternally grateful that our pool doesn't get this 
crowded. I've actually seen photos of some pools 
in China that are this packed! Our pool, especially 
now with reservations required, limits the total number 
of people per lane to two. That means 10 people can 
reserve a spot every morning. I already have 5:00 am 
reserved for Friday. 

So, short and sweet today. I have my swim bag and locker bags ready, I hope my audio book transmits OK through my headphones so that I won't be adjusting them constantly, and I'm really hoping to get a good workout in the pool today. I'm woefully out of practice for my water exercise, and getting to my full mile in the pool again soon is my primary goal. A mile in the water every time is an excellent workout and I miss it. Have a wonderful and extraordinary day and I'll be back tomorrow. 

I'm Tired, I'm Under Deadlines, and Decisions Need to be Made ASAP

I'm really tired today. I wish I had the option of grabbing another 1-2 hours of sleep, but that's not going to happen. Unfortunately. I was up as usual, did my morning meditation, hit the treadmill for a rather poor showing of only 1-1/2 miles instead of my more usual 2, showered, washed and ate my breakfast (fruit), and settled down at my keyboard to catch up with emails, customer queries and my daily blog. I have no good reason to be "blah" or "run down" today. I'm feeling much better, I'm at a really great weight, I'm eating properly, I'm getting my six hours of sleep every night. I'm going to blame it on the temperature. We're colder now. It's Autumn, and my body wants to hibernate. Unfortunately, life goes on in the "Frozen Northlands", and whether I'm warm or cold, I still have to be functional. 

No real reason to be feeling "Blah", but I am, 
anyway. Maybe it's Fall getting me down, or 
maybe I'm just cold, but I'm unenthusiastic about 
today in general. Sorry, Tuesday. 

I'm going to try to talk to Chickie today about her taking a few more days off. She's got a week off scheduled for mid-October, but I'd like her to sprinkle a few more single days off in there as well. She's due some more time off (we don't allow time off during November-December - just too much that needs to be done at that time of the year). I might be able to pull a single day off in November for her, but really, I need the majority of her vacation days to be from now through Halloween. 

I love Halloween, it's one of my favorite holidays. 
Maybe if I just look ahead and see it beckoning 
me onward, I'll be more enthused about going to 
work today - LOL. 

I may be tired, but at least I'm feeling much better. I finish my antibiotic regime on Thursday morning, and the antibiotic ointment can continue on my body past then, but Thursday is the final day I'm allowed to put the ointment on my head. I'm looking and feeling like a human being again, though, and I'm very grateful for modern science - LOL. I received a long, two-page questionnaire from the Allergist in yesterday's mail, so I'll try to get started filling that out today. It's a good thing I don't take medications. I have to list all of them, and for someone else, that could be a real time consuming project, right there. I do use a few supplements, but those are easy to list out. 

I need to settle on the size paper I need to order and get 
that going ASAP (along with envelopes). I know the image(s) 
I want to use on this year's card, but assembly will be 
required and that always takes time. I'm going to leave 
things minimal in the detail work, but there are some things 
I have to make decisions on RIGHT NOW and doing 
a couple of quick tests will save me heartache in
crunch time. 

I need to put together a mock-up of the paper size I'm thinking about ordering for my holiday cards. I need to know how much I need to order and exactly what I'm going to do with it, but I can do that. I also need to get some smaller pieces of artwork into the shrink-wrap, slap some price tags onto them, and get them out onto the sales floor. I really need to move ahead with my cards, though. I'm going to be super time crunched on them as it is. Cards might be late this year, so I'm apologizing in advance. 

I don't have a "true" Denver 
Broncos hoodie, but all of my 
hoodies are Broncos oriented. 
It occurs to me that I don't have 
a zip-up style of Broncos 
hoodie. I'll have to look into 
that after this season. So far, my
team is playing VERY well! 

So, I'm off to start my day. I think I'll pull on a hoodie. Maybe getting a bit warmer will help me get into the rhythm of the day. I know I need to load a new book onto my iPod - I listen to books when I run, and today's selection just didn't cut it for me. I think I'll download the first of the Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters. I own the full series on Audible (and most of the paperbacks as well), and haven't listened to them for years. I love the books, so yeah. Some warm Egyptian desert scenes mixed with high tea and archaeology could be just the ticket. That sounds like a perfect decision. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully much warmer and a bit better rested - LOL. 

Books - My Motivator, My Lifelong Friend and My Addiction

How long do you do something before it becomes a habit that you don't even think about any more? For example, I'm on the treadmill 6 days a week and have been since my broken ankle allowed me to resume activity. Today was the 197th day I fought my way through my routine. I've extended my routine to 1.75 miles now, requiring it to be complete within 30 minutes (currently I'm tracking between 28-29 minutes for my mileage). It's not a run, I'm not allowed to have anything that would be "high" impact. It's a very fast walk to build up a nice sweat. Is it a routine? Probably. A habit? Maybe. 

The audio book I'm currently listening to 
is TJ Klune's magnificent "The House 
in the Cerulean Sea". It's such a masterpiece, 
and a joy to listen to. I sometimes will 
catch nuances I didn't catch with a first 
reading when I listen to the audio. This 
one keeps me coming back to the treadmill 
so that I can listen to the next chapter(s). 

I know, for a fact, that I couldn't do this almost every day without something to keep me occupied. For the treadmill, I count on my audiobooks. I've been a fan of audiobooks since I first started on the treadmill in the early 2000's. At that time I had abdominal surgery and asked when I could start exercising. I was told I could start really slowly, so I did - R E A L L Y   S L O W L Y.   I think I was doing a pace between one and two miles per hour, and I wasn't able to do much more than fifteen minutes or so for the first week, but I was determined. I didn't have any great portable device for my audio books at that time, so endured a lot of skipped parts on CD's as my speed increased. The book I was listening to at that time? "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, of course. A standard love of mine for more than 50 years. Books? For me they are a habit - an addiction. 

I own multiple copies of the Trilogy - hard 
cover and paperback. I own several sets 
of the movie as well, and picture books, 
magazines, and even a Tolkien trivia game. 
It's an addiction of mine for most of my life. 

In my quest for good audio books, I switched over to an iPod when it became affordable, and started downloading books from Audible.com for my listening pleasure. I've used audio books and iPods ever since (the only Apple products I own). I even have two underwater iPods that allow me to swim with either music or a book. I've kept up an annual membership with Audible.com since those early days also, and now own more than 250 audio books. If I love an author, it's a good bet I'll be buying their audio version as well as their e-book. I re-read books constantly, and re-listen to the good ones again and again. 

Some of the first books I purchased on audio were books 
by Elizabeth Peters. I think I have a complete set of her 
Egyptian books now. I had the rare pleasure of listening 
to her speak in Denver along with my friend Sharon, a year 
or so before she died. I would have loved to take a tour 
through Egypt with her - what a treat that would have been. 

That, combined with the fact that I always have an e-book uploaded into my phone at any given time, declares to the world that I LOVE BOOKS. No hesitation here - I've always loved books, and I will always love them. On days when I really don't feel like getting onto the treadmill for another workout, it's the book calling to me that gets me there. I want to listen to the next portion - another chapter or two, another plot twist or character. I'm not sure I could develop any constructive habits without a book intertwined with it. How about you? Do you always have a book at hand? Do you listen to audio books? Are you a total book addict - book worm - like I am? I've met many of my readers through my life=long love of Tolkien, but I'm well aware that I have e-friends whom I've met through other means as well. What role do books play in your life and what types of books do you prefer to read? 

I'm addicted to books and I'm NOT looking 
for a cure. From the time I learned to read, 
I've had a book either in my hands or at hand. 
I like to think it's a healthy relationship ... at 
least most of the time - LOL. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have an excellent day and please, don't be complacent. Be kind, stay safe and please, PLEASE, wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Audio Evolution - Born From Necessity

My alarm was set for 4:00 am, but I awakened at 3:15 am and decided, "What the heck, I might as well get up now." So I was a good girl and got up, I also decided to be good and see if I could manage a quick one mile walk on the treadmill. I haven't worked on the treadmill since before I broke my ankle/foot on May 1st, so it's been a while. But, I was able to get my running shoe onto my broken foot without trouble, and hit the treadmill walking. 

There is nothing fabulous about a treadmill, but it's a good piece
of equipment to use and we've owned one for more than twenty
years. DH works out on it regularly during the winter, and I use
it when I can't get to the gym or the pool. I want to use the
treadmill 3X/week and the Barre 3X/week, that'll get me back
to my normal 6-days-a-week exercise schedule. 

The mile went by quickly while listening to an audio book. Do many of you listen to audio books? I first started listening to them while recovering from abdominal surgery almost twenty years ago. I was on this same treadmill at the time, walking very slowly, but trying to build up muscle strength again to get to the point where I could go back to work. Listening devices were much bulkier and more difficult to use at that time, but I used a CD player somewhat successfully. 

I suspect many of my readers had one of these - the
original iPod player. Although it took me a
little to nail the operational controls, I loved
the fact that it didn't skip while using it for
exercise. It's still the only Apple product
line I love. 

After frustration with CD's and their skipping issues during bouncing during a fast walk or run, I purchased an iPod - one of the original ones. I think I still have it in a drawer somewhere. That first iPod was the only Apple device I ever truly loved (Apple and I have a love/hate relationship - I don't play well with Apple). I downsized my iPods whenever I had the funds to afford a new one, and currently still use three different ones - two waterproof, one not. My waterproof iPods are designed to swim with me. Well, I'm not in the water now, but I'm still using them for my morning workouts - one for music, the other for audiobooks. 

There were several iterations between what I currently have
and the original iPod. I owned/still have most of them. The
final ones I use are from the Shuffle line - similar to this.
Mine happen to be hot pink, but I had two turquoise
blue ones before my pink ones. 

It was nice to get back to the treadmill again, even though it bores me terribly. With a good book I can ignore the fact that I'm walking fast to nowhere. I hope your Thursday is tremendous and that you go to bed tonight feeling pleased about what you did during the day. I'll be back tomorrow. Be well, Stay safe and please, wear a mask. 

Triumphs and Growls - Life Always Has Both

Yesterday was a rainy day and so wet I didn't get out into the garden at all. I'm hoping all of that rain made my transplanted maple tree delirious with wet happiness and that it will grow tall and strong and rather bushy quickly. It's not that I hate the Alzheimer's care facility across the creek, it's that I hate that one window. I like my privacy and it always makes me feel as if someone is watching me when I sit in my patio chair. 

As I pointed out yesterday, that window from the care
facility across the creek from me is what I'm hoping this
Silver Maple will cover. Maple trees grow quickly,
and Silver Maples spread out as well as up, so I'm
hoping it will grow high and bushy ASAP. 

I passed my physical exam with flying colors, but have a mammogram and bone density test coming up tomorrow. These are nothing tests, but important ones. I'm overdue on my mammogram, which I try to have every year, and it's always good to keep on top of my bone density since I have had osteopenia for a decade or more. Osteopenia is a bone density issue, but not as bad or as advanced as the more well-known osteoporosis. Osteopenia can be a precursur to osteoporosis, however, so I want to keep an eye on it. 

Although I was on bone density meds for several years, I never
felt comfortable with them and I'm hoping I won'd have to
return to using them. There are a LOT of negatives associated
with bone density medications. 

Apparently my mental acuity is excellent. Sorry to disappoint all of you, my readers and friends - LOL. 

Apparently I have no problem with spatial placement or
random memory recall skills. Whoot! 

I'm having an argument that I'm losing with my laptop and my iPod shuffle right now. I listen to audio books on my shuffle while I'm at the gym. My shuffles are treated for use as an underwater listening device, and I love them. I have two of them, one loaded with music, one with books. Since I've been away from the water, I've been using the one for books exclusively. Yesterday I purchased the next book in a series, but last night I couldn't get it loaded properly for anything. I finally gave up, loaded a different book, and I'll try some things while I'm at work today. Sometimes technology SUCKS! 

I really wanted to listen to "Stalker of Shadows",
the first book in Series 3 of Jordan L Hawk's
wonderful SPECTR series, but I couldn't get it
to load properly, although the purchase went
through without problem. I'll listen to one of
Rhys Ford's books instead, then return to fighting
with my Audible vs iPod software for this book. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have a great Tuesday and I'll be back for a very busy Wednesday. 

I'm Addicted to Reading

I've often said that I'm a reading addict, and as I moved my unread 2018 books onto a new listing and counted up the books I read during last year, I was a bit astounded. I guess I do always have my nose in a book! LOL. I read Nook books on my phone, and I almost exclusively buy e-books because they only take up virtual space. I guess you'll get an idea of why I insist on non-physical reading materials now. My grand total of e-books read during 2018 - 139! I also listened to more than 8 audio books, and read a variety of magazines, newspapers, and various articles (not counting surfing and researching on the internet and jumping down that rabbit hole). I've already started my 2019 TBR list of books. 

I didn't read TJ Klune's "Into This River I Drown" in
2018, I read it years ago and re-read it and re-read
it again and again. In 2018 I listened to the audio
version,  and loved it. I wept as much as the first
time I read it. 

It was a year of wonderful offerings by some of my favorite authors, and there's something so satisfying in getting a release notice about a new book in a series I've been enjoying. I have approximately 50 e-books that I carried over to my 2019 list. I already finished the first of my carryovers yesterday, starting the next in the series last night. I usually don't have that large of a carryover, so I'd better try and get caught up! 

For an outstanding audio book series, start with
"The Lightning-Struck Heart" by TJ Klune. There
are four books in the series, this is the first one,
and the rendering by Michael Lesley will have you
laughing (and crying because you're laughing
so much).  

I mention audio books because I really enjoy them too. I've learned that there are certain narrators I adore - their individual talents at separating character from character, adding appropriate sound effects, and generally making the words come alive are above the pale. Two that immediately come to mind are Greg Trembly and Michael Lesley. Both of these men are so talented, and anyone who can make the ending renditions of title, author, sound effects used, etc. interesting to listen to are talents with a capital T. 

The Broken Earth series - a trilogy - was a set
of books that I recommended to all of you last
fall. It was outstanding and worthy of the
many accolades it has been given. 

I never start the year with a reading goal - my only goals stretch to books that I know are in the process of being written, not to an end number. When I was young and my schools and local libraries did reading contests, I always won. They got to the point where they requested that I not participate "officially" so that others could win. I was pulled from a book into class roll call many times. Books suck me into their worlds and my happiest times are days when a book and I are joined in new worlds and adventures, with munchies and a beverage nearby and a comfortable place to sprawl. 

The basic story of my life since I first learned to read back
in the days of stone tablets and chisels. Once introduced to
the written word and the imaginations of authors, there
was no looking back. 

May you read something that catches your imagination today - book, magazine or audio book. May you expand your world and exercise your powers of inner vision through the words of others, enjoying that small piece of escape from the world as a whole. Sometimes escape is a necessary evil in today's tense and angry landscape. Enjoy your Friday and I'll return tomorrow. 

Heat, Time Trials and Audio Books - A Ramble for a Monday

We're back in another heat wave, but I spent a lazy Sunday sitting under the umbrella on the patio, watching DH work hard on the backyard project in the heat. I wasn't being mean - if he had needed my help I would have been helping him. He was hauling dirt down from the front yard, packing the eastern bank, the one closest to the creek, and generally trying to get things done before mid-afternoon, which he almost accomplished. After a trip to Dairy Queen to buy lots of cold stuff, he was feeling much better and we perched in front of the fan and watched an episode of "Midsommer Murders" followed by the latest "Endeavour". All in all, a good day. 

The Team Time Trial rides a 35.5 km route through
some rolling hills, starting and ending in the
town of Cholet. 

Today is the Team Time Trial in Le Tour de France. It's not the most exciting day of the race, but a lot can happen in these time trials; positions can shift, accidents can happen, and teams can truly show their mettle. It's early days still, so shake-ups this early on can still be surmounted. Not for much longer, though. With each day that passes the rankings become more defined and which riders to watch out for this year continue being refined. So far there aren't any surprises, but they will come. It's inevitable. 

I've been listening through TJ Klune's epic series of
the Tales of Verania. I'm on Book Three of the four
right now, but the fourth hasn't been released in
audio format yet. I own it as an e-book, but this
series I prefer to listen to. I'll have to be patient, but
I'm not the best at that. 

I'm approaching the end of my current audio book - I listen to audio books while I swim. There's one more book in the 4-book series. It's been recorded, but it's still in the editing process and hasn't been released yet. ARGH! I'm going to be left hanging and will have to choose a different author for my next swimming book. That may drive me a bit crazy, but change is good, right? LOL

I hope all of you have a great Monday. It's a hard day - back to work, beginning of a new week, etc., etc. Still, poor Monday tries to put a good face on it. It's not easy being Monday.