Time Is Flying By - Updates on This and That and Fence News

Chickie is taking a day of vacation today. Her cousin flew into town last night, and Chickie and Chickie Mama are driving him down to northern Iowa today to attend his grandson's college graduation. At least I think it's a college graduation, not a High School graduation. Still - I don't know for sure, so we'll just call it a "Graduation". In any event - one of those milestones in a kid's life. So Dennis flew into the Twin Cities last night, they're driving him to his son's place today, and then return to the Cities tonight. It's only a 2-3 hour drive, so not horrid, and the weather should be kind. 

Graduation is always an event - High School or College. 
It's one of those milestone events in life, and should be 
acknowledged and celebrated. Congrats to all of you who 
may have friends or family graduating. Enjoy the event 
and celebrate the next stage of life for these grads. 

In many ways, I'm grateful that I don't deal with a lot of family things. I'm in the older generation for my nieces and nephews. That means I get invited to events, but just a short list of them. I don't get invited to every event - the kid's performances, sporting events, and minor graduations are kept in a closer circle of family. Since DH and I are rather solitary people, that's just fine with us. 

Here is Lexi, wrapped in her blanket and holding her 
eagle feather. I have a feeling that this graduation will mean 
more to her in years to come than the official one where 
she'll receive her diploma will. 

My oldest grand-niece,  Lexi, is finishing her senior year of High School, ready to start college at a fine private college in the general area this coming Fall. Her high school has a strong Native American group, and they held their own graduation event for the NA students earlier in the week. Lexi was given traditional gifts - a lovely blanket and an eagle feather. She's a registered Native American woman, so has the legal right to have an eagle feather. I do hope she knows how to wrap it and care for it, but I'm sure someone will teach her. It's not up to me, although I certainly could step up and do that if called upon. 

Not that you need reminding, but I have this HUGE 18 foot 
gap in my fence from where the posts rotted out. The rest 
of the fence is also falling apart. It will be a delight to have a 
new, strong fence again. We got almost 20 years from the old 
fence, so that's not too bad. We probably won't be living in 
this house any more when the replacement starts to rot out. 

I had a call from my fence people yesterday, and they'll be out on Tuesday to tear down the remainder of the fence and pour the new fittings for the fence posts. I'm not sure how long it will be before they'll install the new panels, but we're one step closer to having our yard back once again. We've been very careful to keep the open distance they require while we were planting our garden. We're not taking responsibility for our wayward ferns, however. If they get stepped on and broken, I have a few hundred available and we won't really miss a single plant or two. 

I find it odd that Rosemary still has the original 
"Leave a message" recording on her phone, but 
then again, why change it? It's her husband's 
voice, probably recorded shortly before he went 
into a long-term care facility. 

So, since I'm working today, I have to get going. I was finally able to leave a phone message for Rosemary yesterday - I called her from work on the land line, and the call finally went through to her answering machine. It's odd - she's still got her husband's voice on the "leave a message" recording. He died several years ago, and was in a care center, then hospice, for a few years before. I'm quite surprised she's kept his recording on the answering machine, but then again, it's a reminder of a strong marriage that lasted for many, many years. 

Time is a precious commodity - one of those things that 
can never be recaptured, once lost. Choose what you spend 
your time with carefully. You don't want to waste any of 
this rare and precious gift. 

I'm off and running. I have to work for Chickie, so no time to waste. Thanks go out to my hockey friend in Nebraska for the wonderful birthday gift of four hockey DVD's. Absolutely FABULOUS. I actually went on to B&N to buy the book for "Indian Horse: A Novel" by Richard Wagamese. I'm looking forward to reading it. One of the DVDs is in French, which I don't speak, but hey - it's hockey. I'll figure it out, and I think there are English subtitles as an option. So ... WHOOT. A great and very unexpected gift from an on-line friend. 

Well, since I have to work today, I have to get things moving. Tempus fugit! Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back to wrap the week up tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

A Skinsuit, Road Construction and a Graduation - Life Never Stands Still

It was a slow day at the shop yesterday, but that was a good thing. I continued working on the crystals for the day and got a LOT done. I'm still finishing up this part, but I'm seeing the massaging coming to an end and the uploading staring me in the face. Of course, that too will be a lot of work, but I'm totally stoked. It's getting there and I'm almost ready to switch everything to the new format. I just hope that all I've read about the photo sizes is correct and that things will look correctly on the monitors of whoever stops by to take a closer look. 

I like the pattern of my new skinsuit 
quite a lot. It's fish scales, so I'll look 
like a large fish while swimming. I can 
live with that. Now that I have two skinsuits, 
I'm ready for the outdoor pool. 

I'm wearing my new skinsuit in the pool today. I'm also using my new board. The outdoor pool opens on Saturday so next Tuesday I'll be swimming there and I want to break these items in, get used to them, before the pool is open. I won't have any problem with the suit - I now have two of these for UV protection and I'm pleased with my choices. But the board may take a bit more work, so I'll dive right in on that today. 

Orange signs, barricades and large, heavy equipment 
are everywhere. The roads are undergoing their 
usual stuff, and it's a PITA. They're completely remaking 
the main road in front of my YMCA. Fortunately the 
crossing is still open, and I usually get there via the 
back way in any case. Still ... the other road I take 
also has construction. They're lengthening the turn 
lanes and repainting for this one, so it's down to 
single lane from double. Again, not a problem at 
5:00 am, but later in the day when I'm coming 
home from work, it can be an issue. 

Of course, it's a "day off", and errands abound. I'll be here, there and everywhere. I do need to drop by Target, but I'll skip my usual one and go to my secondary to avoid road construction issues. Total PITA, but that's our choices at this time of the year. Minnesota - land of snow and road construction. 

I would love to get a card like this for Emma's 
graduation, but I'm sure DH wouldn't be happy. 
He doesn't understand some types of humor at 
all. Where I would laugh at this, he would think 
it was a put-down and a mood buster. 

I expect I'll be pretty busy, though. I hope I remember to pick up a Graduation card for my oldest nephew's daughter. She'll be graduating High School this year. I was at her baptism and it seems like it was yesterday. Now, Emma is an almost High School graduate. Where did the time go? 

It doesn't seem all that long ago when I was 
attending her baptism. Wow - the years 
have just flown by. I suspect DH will be 
happier with a more traditional card similar 
to this one. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have to remember to put the trash and recycling bins at the curb before fighting the road construction to the gym. Maybe the construction will help keep our numbers down for the outside pool this summer. Or not. When they open, they will come - inevitably. Have an excellent day, spare some time to do something unexpected and kind for another human being, and Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

All Good Things Must Come to an End - WildFit Wrap-up

Today is the final Zoom call for my WildFit Tribe and I'm looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. It's been a long journey - 13 weeks of trials and sacrifice, with varied results in the end, but I'd say more than 80% of the participants are thrilled with the program and going to stick with it past today and tomorrow. Many of these people have joined our separate Facebook group that was set up last week by one of our Tribe members. That will allow all of us to stay in touch with each other, because realistically, most of us have more weight to release and we'll need the support of the Tribe to get there. 

MindValley is a premier location for self-improvement 
classes in a wide variety of aspects. Anything from 
career to personal development courses are available 
through MindValley, along with free Master 
Classes lasting 60-90 minutes in length every 
month or so. I highly recommend MindValley to 
all of you. 

I've done other MindValley classes, in fact I'm taking several others right now, but WildFit was unique. The way the program is structured, with such a high level of interaction and guidance, is what allows it to be as successful as it is, and allows the participants to link to each other. My other classes have taken place on the MindValley network which has participants posting in a far different way than on Facebook, and it's much less interactive with less back and forth between people attending the classes. 

Eric Edmeades is the founder of  WildFit. Although 
we haven't interacted with him directly, our coaches 
do touch base. We were having some people who had 
problems with the program, and I posted a response 
to them. Eric actually responded to me on Facebook, 
personally! I was shocked and delighted. My friend 
Talita was so excited she immediately messaged 
me and we got into a long conversation back and 
forth for a half- hour about MindValley and how pleased 
we were with the classes we were taking. 

I love the classes I'm taking - I think I'm allowing my mind to explore directions I've wanted to go since my college days. I thought I was a bit silly taking four classes at the same time, but my O/L friend, Talita, is taking more than ten. Suddenly I don't feel as silly at all - LOL. 

Lots of green veggies is foundational to WildFit. Add 
high quality protein to that, along with fruits (in season 
only) and other veggies like squash and beets, and you've 
got a lovely variety of food. I've always been a bit 
of a bunny - I love my salads and veggies. The 
emphasis on green veggies was no issue for me. 

But since today is the final Zoom call, we're all taking our Alkagizer drinks along with us, putting them into cocktail glasses, and celebrating. It's Graduation Day for those of us in the basic program, and we're going to toast each other and wish each other the best with cheers and tears this afternoon. Although I'll still be in touch with some people, I'll miss the cohesiveness of the Tribe. But life must go on, and programs have to come to an end. I've made some good friends, and that's the important thing (along with the 15 pounds I've released). Oh, and why released instead of lost? You look for things that are lost, you release things permanently. It's all in the psychology of it. 

I might whip together a simple garnish similar 
to this cute Christmas Tree garnish. I have 
a cucumber that I'll be using today to make 
more Alkagizers, I can get a carrot and olives 
at the grocery store this morning along with 
my regular Friday shop. I actually also need 
to get to Target and the office supply store, 
so my morning is pretty crammed. I've set aside 
a crystal goblet, and I'm totally ready for 
today's Zoom call. 

On that note, I'm off to the store. I still have a lot to get finished before I can settle down in front of my laptop for my Zoom call. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow, and please stay safe and be kind. 

Creative Writing Class Final Rehash

So, as many of you already know, I enrolled in an online course on Creative Writing through my local Community College. The course, called "Advanced Fiction Writing" has its final exam today and I'm taking the day off from work to take that, work on finishing my AinA, do laundry, and generally catch up since my Wednesday was a national holiday and I had to share my usual "day off" with my DH. It was fun to share the day with him in mid-week, but I accomplished absolutely nothing of my own personal goals. I need today and I'm taking it.

In any case, I have to take my exam today (it's the last day that I can). I have to say, I really enjoyed the course. It was quite comprehensive and left me with tons of supplementary material, websites, a 1-1/2" thick binder of printed classes to refer back to, etc. What I didn't do was participate a lot in the discussion aspect, although I usually am the first to jump into things like that. I didn't like the format for discussion, it seemed quick clunky and didn't really seem to encourage genuine interaction. But that aside, I loved the course.

The information I got is available in other formats and was nothing new, but it was good to get down to the basics again and re-acquaint myself with the foundations of all literature. I want to continue to work on improving my own writing and branch off to writing some original fiction. This course and other books are providing me with a foundation to be able to do that. It was relatively inexpensive and well worth the cost of time, materials and actual money. I would do another on-line course based on the success of this one.