Mountains and Water and a River - Moving Along with Radiation Too

Starting today, I am shifting into earlier scheduling for my Radiation Therapy. Today will be 9:00 am, so not much different than the 9:15 am I've been on. But tomorrow, I'll drop down to 8:00 am and I even have one 7:45 am before I've completed the therapy. That means you might be getting very truncated posts on those earlier days because I still want to exercise on the treadmill and shower before I sit down in front of the computer. I'm just warning you - there may be a day or two there where I might be unable to post, or might post quite a bit later than usual. 

The Canadian Rockies are stunning. I recall my parents 
having taken a train trip through Canada to Banff. Mom 
was singularly unimpressed. When she took a trip, she 
wanted to meet new people and go shopping, not look at a 
lot of scenery - much of which looked like mountains 
she already knew in Colorado. But I adore the mountains, 
and think I'd really enjoy a train trip through Canada 
and the Banff Rockies. 

Today's treadmill was awesome. I spent 30 minutes in the Canadian Rockies - one of my favorite places to be. It was stunning scenery and lots of mountains with snow on the top and glacial waters gathering at the bottom. I might enjoy the desert vistas of New Mexico and Arizona, but my heart always belongs in the mountains - those deep, deep roots and high, high peaks that have snow on them year-'round. I suppose that's what comes from being a Colorado girl, but I live in an area where a 600 foot incline is considered worthy of having a ski lift and slopes for downhill. What a joke! 

You can walk across the Mississippi River at its' 
birthplace at Lake Itasca, Minnesota. It grows - a 
LOT - before it pours into the Gulf of Mexico (or 
Gulf of America if you want to be "woke"). 

Where I live was scoured flat by the great glaciers of the Ice Age back long, long ago. I have the great rivers and what seems like a million lakes (only 10,000 or so, according to the state slogan - LOL). I live in the state that gives birth to the mighty Mississippi. You can go to Lake Itasca and actually walk across where the great river is born. By the time the river hits the Twin Cities, it's already wide and deep enough to handle barge traffic, and it only continues to grow and grow as it moves south towards it's mouth at the great city of New Orleans. 

If you look carefully at the map above, you'll see 
Baton Rouge below the word River in the title. 
That's where the various Mississippi River Deltas 
begin. The river currently moves along south of New 
Orleans to the Port of New Orleans, but it keeps 
depositing soil as it goes, and changing the 
landscape it passes through. It's a huge river and it 
moves a lot of dirt downstream. 

It's the great rivers of the world that have allowed people to gather, join together, build settlements, towns, cities and nations, and pull together within national identities. Water is life, and human beings always gathered around dependable water sources first, then looked for the other things that would make long-term settlement possible. That's when things like climate, available food sources, and other people who might be allies or enemies all came into play. But water was the first thing, because without water, there is no life on this blue planet that is primarily liquid. Have an excellent day, I'm off to grab a quick breakfast and head over to Radiology. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

One More Hurdle Down, Next Week Will (Almost) Be a Vacation

So, I survived the MRI and it wasn't horribly difficult. I didn't bother with the valium at all - I could tell that it was a tube, not a box, and I don't have issues as long as I can see or sense a way out. So, I accepted whatever they had in mind or fed me through my IV line, relaxed and concentrated on my breathing, and listened to a lot of VERY loud noises for what seemed like forever. There was music playing in the background, but it was quite faint and easily overtaken by the interesting noises of the machine doing its' thing. But basically, all I did was follow instructions and lie there. The cushion that my sternum should have been resting on, however, raised me too high for what they needed, so they took away the cushion and covered the metal plate with a cloth. My sternum is still sore from having my weight resting on it for more than 30 minutes against that hard metal surface. 

A breast MRI scan (this is NOT mine, BTW) can show 
details, locations and extent clearer than almost any other 
options. That's especially true in women with dense 
breast tissue (which is what I've got). My doctor wanted 
a much closer and more comprehensive look at my cancer 
to make sure she wasn't missing anything when she perform 
surgery in a couple of weeks. 

My friend Claire, aka "Chickie Mama" picked me up at the shop and drove me to and from the Radiology Lab. She said she gets these scans every six months, and Chickie has had them at least once before as well. Both of them warned me about how loud the sounds are. Oh yeah! They're super loud and rather interesting. The sounds aren't all the same, either. There is a variety of sound meanings, variations, descriptions and lengths. It actually was pretty interesting. I'll forgo further examination of the sounds until I'm supposed to go through another one of these, however. 

Look at these lovely different MRI scans under different 
types of dyes. MRI is one of the best ways to isolate 
brain tumors - there's not much better ways since you 
can't actually feel for lumps or invasive tissues. Each color 
in the photos above is a different type of dye that the 
MRI can work with, and each type of dye focuses on 
a different type of tumor or area. 

I had an IV, of course - yet another puncture hole. They actually injected me with a contrast dye towards the end of the procedure. I was amused at the end of the session, when I was finally released from the tube and allowed to get my sternum away from that hard surface. They wrapped up my arm, telling me to leave the pressure bandage on for at least 30 minutes. I think I remembered to remove it an hour or so later. But ... what I found amusing were the twin vampire marks on my arm. I couldn't see where the IV had actually been positioned, but apparently my skin had been pressure folded in two places and it looked exactly like two gashes, equidistant apart from each other and approximately 1/2 inch long, 1-1/2 inches closer to my wrist. Vampires! LOL 

Every monster has its' pet. Witches traditionally 
have cats, vampires traditionally have bats. I have 
no real idea what the Mummy would have, but 
maybe a dung beetle? LOL

But one more hurdle has been passed and I'm one step closer to resolution and surgery. Next week I have my pre-op physical, and then, the following week I have my lumpectory. It's been quite the ride. It's not over quite yet, but I'm much closer. That's good, because I don't think DH could put up with much more of this. He's going a little bonkers with all of the tests, do-hickeys and whats-a-maholics. We just want this over with so that we can live our lives again. Of course, we'll be arguing constantly once again, but I'll take this small respite from that attitude and enjoy it while I can. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back to wrap up the week tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's the Final Day of 2024 - Thoughts and Calendars

Today is the final day of 2024 and I'm heading to the swimming pool in a half-hour or so. It's the end of the year on most calendars we come into contact with, but there are other calendars out there used today that will not reflect this date. That's fine, although it can be a bit confusing sometimes. 

It's the last day of the current year on the calendar 
that we use most frequently here in the USA. 
Do you use a different calendar? Tell us about it. 

I remember when I was quite young, a relative from Israel sent me a calendar for the New Year, and it was a complete revelation to me because it didn't resemble my "normal" calendar at all. It was all in Hebrew, for one thing, but the months and dates were different, and the year was totally different. I thought it odd and rather unusual, as well as rather worthless to my young self. I liked it as an oddity, but never really had any use for it. 

I was quite mystified by the calendar my Jewish 
relatives had sent. I didn't understand it at all, 
and finally gave up and returned to my standard 
calendars with months I recognized and dates 
I could read. 

Calendars frame our lives. We're born on specific dates, and celebrate those dates annually as we progress in age. We track things on calendars - appointments, goals, life-changing events, etc. We sometimes look back at old calendars to see if we have progressed in one or another thing. I keep the photo pages that I love, because the calendars that I purchase annually have some outstanding photography. 

I choose my calendars because of their 
images. I have five calendars that I 
use daily, and one at the shop. All of them 
have wonderful photographs that I adore. 

So we're at the end of the calendars for 2024, and almost ready to begin the calendars for 2025. Will things really change that much? It's unlikely. You'll still head to your job within the week, you'll still deal with cooking and grocery shopping, you'll still dry a child's tears or exchange hugs with a good friend. In other words, life will continue. The only thing that will change is the date that we write on entries like this one, or on notes or physical checks to pay bills. But, you have an opportunity, today, to look back over the past year and say, "Yes. I liked this part of my year", or "No, I don't think I want to repeat that experience again." In other words, we can change our future based on the experiences of the past. 

When you look back at the past year, look at all of it - the 
good and the bad. You'll find that the good is much more 
than the bad, and the bad existed only to show you how much 
you had that was good in your life. Be kind to yourself. You've 
made it through another year and are beginning a new one. 
The possibilities are limitless. 

Today, I urge you to look at the past year - the good and bad, the happy and the sad. Don't worry about resolutions, just make a general pledge to be kind. Somehow, that's really all that's needed to make your way in this world. Kindness can move mountains. Have a safe, excellent New Year's Eve. I'm not sure if I'll post tomorrow (I probably will), but I wish the very BEST 2025 for every one of my readers. Slava Ukraini. 

 

Every Day is a Fresh Choice

A thought popped into my head today (well, actually a few more than ONE thought). Floating to the top of the thought pile was "Every day is a fresh choice. What will you choose today?" That thought was immediately followed by a desire to decide on a theme for this year's holiday cards. After all, what better to think about when summer is about to kick in, than the snows of winter and the sound of Christmas bells? *sigh* Yeah - not the more common things to think about at this time of the year for most people. 

This particular photo was from an unexpected snow storm 
in an Alaskan summer. I'm SO happy that I won't be seeing 
snow for several months. 

Why think summer when Spring has barely settled in? Mainly because the outdoor pool opens tomorrow and we'll be swimming out there (weather permitting) until Labor Day (that's early September for my non-USA readers). The only times we'll be swimming indoors is if the day is stormy - lightning and the outdoor pool do not mix, so lightning requires a shift to the smaller, indoor pool. I like them both - but my larger swim fins only work well in the longer pool, so I'll be adding those to my swim bag today so that I have them on Tuesday when I'll be swimming outdoors for the first time this year. 

Isn't this an amazing photo of lightning? It was a long 
exposure photo over Johannesburg, South Africa. Stunning, 
isn't it? Mother Nature is amazing and smaller miracles 
happen all around us every single day. 

I have a TON of things to do on this, my "day off", not just thinking about holiday cards and looking at a pile of bills that I have to e-pay today. The end of May and beginning of June are the beginning and ends of so many things in our general society. In the USA, it's the end of the school year for many, and the beginning of summer. For some, it's the end of school and the beginning of the rest of their lives. But whether the kids are graduating to Middle School from Elementary, or graduating from college with a B.A. or an advanced degree, it's a step forward on this path we all call life. 

It's after graduation occurs that reality starts to set in. 
Suddenly life stretches ahead - choices at every 
intersection, and no going back. It can be frightening 
for a lot of people, because most of us, although we 
earned degrees, really didn't jump right into using that 
degree for our future employment choices. 

Life can be what we allow it to be. We all make choices - every day of our lives. Those choices could be as mundane as "What brand of bread do I want today?" to momentous - "I think I want to do X with my life. I need to do Y and Z to attain that goal." It is human nature to set internal goals. I'm quite sure it started with the basics - "It's a nice day - I think I'll go harvesting and see if those plants that were ripening a week or two age are ready to be plucked." Or maybe, "It's a great day for hunting. I'll grab the guys and we'll try for some bush pig." 

There is always choice - good or bad. Sometimes you 
can't evaluate the wisdom of either path of choice until 
you've already chosen it. Sometimes those choices 
will turn out to be poor choices. But we're human. We 
have the ability to choose a different pathway - not 
always easy, but possible nonetheless. Change can still 
happen, even after a choice has been made. 

Those basic goals of food and shelter met, mankind was able to focus on larger goals - things such as career choices, mate choices, living area choices. The bigger things in life. Look back over your choices today as you dive into your tasks and challenges. Is there any single thing you would have done differently? Does that choice bother you, even if it was many years ago and you can't change things now? If so, perhaps it's time to put the past behind you and focus on today and tomorrow instead. The past can be a weight dragging you down. Drop it behind you and fly free! Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap the week up. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

 

Recipes, Thoughts and Miscellaneous - My Life in a Nutshell - LOL

As I mentioned in my short post yesterday, I survived the surgery and all is good. In fact, all is great. There are minor issues that I'll deal with as I heal, and I'll have to see what happens in future, but basically, this is wonderful. Colors are brighter, images have greater clarity, and except for a minor bout of astigmatism (which may or may not go away, but can easily be corrected when I get new glasses), I'm totally set for summer. 

I'm getting some double-imagery that my check-up doctor 
yesterday said might be astigmatism. Basically, that's when 
the lens isn't quite round - more football shaped instead. 
It can cause double-vision and blurriness. Some of this 
will disappear as I heal, but some may be permanent. 
Fortunately, it's easily correctable with glasses. 

I'll have my next check-in on the 8th, this time to get a baseline on my vision and arrange for a new prescription. Since I've worn glasses since I was 10, I fully expect to be wearing them again. I've got good distance vision now, the vast blur now has definition, but close-in work - reading or craft work - needs a bit more clarity. I've always been near-sighted, so this is a bit of a variation for me. Right now I'm using a single panel of a tri-focus lens in a set of eyeglasses I used more than a decade ago. That's allowing me to use my phone and read easily. 

This is NOT my feeder, but I am getting hummingbirds 
at my feeder quite regularly now, so I'm quite pleased. 
I saw several yesterday afternoon when I allowed myself 
to relax in the yard for an hour in mid-afternoon. 

I'm back at the shop today and tomorrow, then I'll have two days off for the holiday weekend and Memorial Day. I won't be posting on Monday, except maybe a quick "Honor" post for our veterans and those who sacrificed everything for the sake of our contentious freedom. 

Freedoms seem to be shrinking lately, and it's very 
concerning to me. I don't conform well - never have. I've 
always been the non-conformist, that voice speaking out 
for personal freedom of choice. I'm becoming quite 
uncomfortable in the world we seem to be moving toward. 

Of course those freedoms. so hard won, seem to be shrinking lately. Issues I thought were long handled are popping up again, and personal freedoms are being curtailed. I'm quite glad, in this instance, that I'm old - I'm looking at no more than three decades of idiocy. I am finding it hard to believe that we, the generation of Peace, Love and Rock-and-Roll have turned out backs on our ideals and embraced the confines of our parent's society. We rebelled against everything they believed in, and here we are, slipping into the ruts in the road that they left for us. 

I think my baked mango turned out quite good. Not 
as good as their photo, but still not bad. If you're 
interested in the recipe, you can find it here: 
https://www.kitchenathoskins.com/baked-mangoes/

I spent a pleasant hour in the kitchen yesterday, making some Mango Crumble. It's basically cut mango baked with a covering of crushed nuts, shredded coconut, oats, and honey. I had two mangoes that I wanted to use up, so I played with a new recipe and it was quite lovely. I made several larger slices and with the smaller pieces, used ramekins to put in the mango, covered with the toppings. All of them turned out to be really tasty. I'm bringing one ramekin to the shop for Chickie's lunchtime treat today. The next thing I want to try is a flourless almond cake using almond flour. Maybe next week. 

I want to try this almond cake recipe next. 
It looks amazing, and I think it will fit in 
well with my WildFit life. If you're 
interested in this recipe, here's a link 
for you: 
https://www.dishbydish.net/flourless-almond-cake/

So, I'm wrapping this up. The outdoor pool opens tomorrow, but I can't swim until late next week. Still, I know it's there and I'm already looking forward to it (even though the outdoor pool is more crowded than our indoor one - everyone comes from throughout the Cities to swim in our pool in the summer). I'll have my opportunity, and I'll do my best to take full advantage of it until Labor Day. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Thoughts on Number 222 - Perfection? In Some Ways, Yes

Today is swim number 222 since I returned to the swimming pool after COVID. I'm quite pleased with that number, since I'm only swimming three days a week now. Plus, it's a rather magic number - three two's in a row. Although all numbers are unique, some are more balanced and special than others. One may be the loneliest number, but 222 is a friendly crowd with someone to converse and share with for everyone in the audience and no single person or day elevated above the rest. 

I'm not necessarily a believer in angels, but apparently 
angels and numbers have great meaning for many 
people. There were a LOT of angelic definitions for 
the number 222. 

That an ideal condition - that blend of balance and perfection. It's rarely achieved in life or even in dreams. Days or occasions of perfect balance strike their mark in our memories and can be pulled out of our memory storage rooms or chests on those rare occasions when needed. Just think about it - have you had a perfect day in your life? A day when the weather was perfect, the people you met or interacted with were perfect, the tasks achieved were perfect - a day like that? 

On this chart, 222 is balance. I can totally get 
behind that because that's exactly what it is. Now, 
about the other definitions? I'll leave that up to 
you, dear reader. 

Have you had a day when the temperature was perfect? When there were blue skies? Do you enjoy clouds? Maybe there were a few fluffy clouds to decorate the sky. Do you enjoy birds? Maybe there was birdsong to listen to, or hummingbirds to watch at the feeder. What would constitute your perfect day? Is it your surroundings, your activities, or your companion(s) that make that day perfect? What can you do (if anything) to achieve another of those "perfect" days? 

I can get behind this definition, because often the balance 
of 222 allows for new beginning to take root and start 
to grow. But a true new beginning is often not something 
that can be planned, only experienced and looked back 
upon in later times when you see that the day was a 
day of decisions that led you on a specific pathway. 

I think perfect days come upon us in unexpected ways. I think that when we try to plan for a perfect day, it's setting us up for defeat because perfection is a gift, not an achievement. We can strive for the achievement, but the gift is unexpected and absolutely delightful. And, because the gift is something perfect ... well, perhaps it's a kiss from the Divine, for a single moment of a single day. But, although perfection can rarely, if ever, truly be achieved ... give it your best shot today. Try to make it through this day in a way that when you look back at your day as you go to sleep tonight, your actions and activities will bring a smile to your lips and you'll have had a perfect day. Now ... go forth and enjoy your perfect day. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Voting Time - We're Down to 16 Authors, So Please Vote

We are down to 16 if LJ Idol now, and votes are more and more important. I posted my story about Michael Rockefeller's death while doing what he loved in yesterday's post, but here's a link to the story once again. ( erulissedances.DW.org/890658.html ). Read it and if you think it merits your vote, please go to https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1126577.html and cast your vote for me. 

It's impossible, in our world these days, to completely 
isolate tribal peoples from the larger world around 
them. Even in the depths of the Amazon rain forest, 
the deepest deserts and here, in New Guinea, there 
will be interactions between old and new. The 
only questions is how will each be perceived and 
utilized by the tribal people as well as those 
first interacting with them, and what long-term 
effects will be felt in each culture from that 
intersection. 

Why Michael Rockefeller? I didn't choose it to show the superiority of one culture over another. I didn't choose it because it was (and still is) a cautionary tale about meddling in societies without fully understanding the ramifications of such actions. No. The prompt was "Soup's On" and although I had some alternative storylines about my mother, who was a superb self-taught cook (with the help of Julia Child), they just didn't ring as boldly as Michael Rockefeller. 

Headhunters have moved from the forest and 
jungles into the corporate world with the 
new definition being less than complimentary. 

One of the comments mentioned that Colonialism is "bad news", and I can't disagree with that, but I think it goes far past Colonialism. I think that imposing a structure from a place of cultural ignorance,
blind ignorance of religious and personal interrelationships, and the idea behind all of that where your way is the best way, even the ONLY way, is simply incorrect. Yes, modern cultures certainly have things to offer those who don't live with rat races, electricity, and modern-day headaches, but those primitive cultures have something to offer in return. They offer the ability to see the environment in completely different ways. To blend with the land, instead of forcing it to our will. To understand the wind and rain and seasons in ways we can't begin to conceive in our artificial cities and towns. We've eliminated one rhythm and replaced it with another. Not better, not worse, but different. 

Societies arise to deal with populaces and environments. They 
are unique and deeply bound to the people. Simply replacing 
one with another will leave too many people feeling 
disenfranchised and lacking "something" that used to be there. 

Back to mundane things - I cleaned the bathrooms thoroughly, and pulled the drapes from "Sharon" bathroom. They were filthy, but I couldn't launder them - they needed dry cleaning. So I took them to the dry cleaner, washed the screen and the window, and hopefully they'll be done on the 31st. When I returned to the house, the power had gone out in the neighborhood. It stayed off for 45 minutes, but fortunately, came back without problems. DH had to deal with the TV settings when he got home, but the computers were fine because I took care of those. Crises averted, and bathrooms clean. Two off days until Sharon arrives. ACK! LOL Have an excellent day, please vote, and Slava Ukraini. 

A Bright Future That Crashed and Burned - Thoughts on Kamila Valieva

If you're tired of hearing or reading about the figure skating controversy, skip today's blog post. But I'm taking the time today to express my opinion - not necessarily shared by you or the rest of the world, just mine. 

 DH and I watched the finals of the Women's Individual Skating event last night. I can't help but feel sorry for Kamila Valieva, who had a terrible performance for her final time in the spotlight of her competitive life. I've seen her do this routine flawlessly - even here at the Olympics when she performed it for the Teams Competition a bit over a week ago. When she's on form, she's stunning and startlingly breakthrough. She was anything BUT on form last night. 

Kamila Valieva is only fifteen years old. It's hard 
to realize how many years she's already put into 
skating, and it all crashed down around her head 
in less than two months total. 

It was quite obvious the pressures and back-talk of the last few days had really gotten to her. When she came into the Games, she was the shoo-in for the Gold Medal, having proved herself in International competition over the previous two years. After the news of her positive drug test result from tests taken late last year hit, her entire foundation was shaken. Although I feel very sorry for her - she's only 15 years old, after all - there's a lot of blame to spread around. 

Final rulings are up to the IOC, and they 
sat on their hands a bit with this. They should 
have insisted that she was pulled from 
competition immediately upon finding 
out about her positive drug test. Their own 
rules state that anyone who has a positive 
drug test must withdraw from competition. 

What basically happened, however, is the worst possible result. Within a short time, her career has crashed and burned. She will forever be known for that positive drug test, not the fact that she was the first female skater to have five quad-rotation jumps in her program. She's got her top awards from other competitions, but that gold Olympic medal is forever beyond her grasp now. 

It's never enjoyable to see a young person 
crash and burn. It's disturbing for an older 
person as well, but when a young life is ruined 
within a short time span on international 
television ... let's just admit that this was 
a very bad thing for the young woman. 

She'll return back to the Soviet Union and fade into obscurity. If she's lucky, she might get a job as a coach for up-and-coming future stars. If she's unlucky, I foresee very bad things in her future. Her family, of course, will also be affected. In the Russian system, they might have to leave their current residence and move to the hinterlands of Russia. Since she's only 15 years old, and has a lot of hormones playing with growth spurts, thoughts of suicide might pass through her and perhaps, become reality. We may never know for sure because she's probably going to fall off the publicity bus and fade away. 

Of course I feel sorry for her, but I blame the adults 
in this situation for presenting her with the option 
of taking the drugs in the first place. She's far from 
blameless, but that blame can be shared. 

I blame the adults in this situation. I blame them for many things, but most of all, I blame them for not having pulled her out of the Olympic competition immediately when news of the blood test first hit. If it had been acknowledged and she had been pulled out of the competition, she might have been able to recapture her career in time to compete at the 2026 Olympics. She would only be 19 then, so still able to compete at top condition. I highly doubt that will happen now, though. 

I'm happy to spread the blame around, and I'm happy 
to point fingers in many different directions, but 
she should have been pulled from competition 
immediately after the results of the blood test 
became public. 

The Olympics are famous for the height of achievement and the elation of the athletes who achieve a life-long dream. The opposite side of that coin - the crushing darkness of defeat - is rarely pictured. For most of these athletes, the Olympics are one more competition in a long row of competitive events. But there's a shimmer that accompanies the Olympics.  You get the world-wide audience watching where they won't go out of their way for the Nationals or the Worlds. Fair? Not really, but very understandable. On that note, I'm out of here. I have a lot on my agenda today - no real rest for my "day off". I'll be back tomorrow. Have a truly excellent day! 

It Might Be A Busy Day, Or I Could Spend It Watching Workshops and Knitting

I'm not really sure how I can be running late on a day off when it's only 6:10 am, but I am ... running late, that is. Although this is a day off for me, I have a full schedule of things I need to do. The major thing is seriously looking at whether I could remove and clean the dryer duct myself. I actually have a guy scheduled for next Friday to do that, but if I can manage it on my own, I can probably get the dryer fixed without expenditure and much more timely. I'll at least take a good, careful look at it today. I know that getting the duct to climb up the wall and into the ceiling joists to join the exterior valve is extremely difficult and DH wasn't happy when he had to do it the last time. 

Looking at the duct as it snakes 
towards its' outlet, you can start 
to get a feel for why I'm willing 
to pay someone else to deal with 
getting it down, cleaned and 
replaced. I'll have to clean and 
move the shelf before next 
Friday, but that's relatively easy 
to do. 

I also have a 10:00 o'clock Master Class on my computer for a different look at financial acumen. The presenter is a Japanese man with a very different outlook on money and how it can cause actions and temperaments. It's free, and sounded interesting, so I'll invest an hour with Ken Honda. 

I have a 10:00 am Master Class with Ken Honda, a very 
prolific Japanese author whose books focus on finance 
and the Zen of money. I expect it will be quite interesting 
to hear his views, so I'm looking forward to it. 

I would also love to get those sweater sleeves pulled and turned. With all of the laundry issues on Wednesday, I didn't get an opportunity to work on it at all. It's not a complicated thing, but I have to be cautious when removing the stitching. I don't want to be dropping stitches at this point in the project. Still, I put the darned sleeves on backwards because I wasn't using my brain. That won't wash either, as the saying goes. 

All told, although I love Summer, sitting on my patio and 
relaxing on my Sunday afternoons, I enjoy Winter a lot 
too. It's nice to feel cozy in bed in the morning, and appreciate 
a hot shower. I have appropriate winter clothing, so going 
outside, especially on sunny Winter days, is no problem. 
Both seasons have their delights. 

We were actually above zero when I awakened this morning. It's almost a heat wave - LOL. Well, not really, but a girl can dream. It's hard to believe the same room that I swelter in during the summer is the one in which I shiver in the winter. Of course, I can always layer clothing in the winter. It's impossible to remove skin in the summer. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have an excellent Friday and please, be kind, stay safe and wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Counting My Blessings - Random Thoughts for Today

Great minds think alike, I guess. I posted about the importance of local candidates for the upcoming elections and how each person should carefully review and vote for their local choices, and my on-line friend Dusk Peterson also wrote about the same thing. He asked if he could link to my post, and of course I'm fine with that, but both posts are already live, so linking might be redundant. Still ... permission granted. 

I usually never have a problem with friends wanting 
to link to my blog for a particular post. But it's kind 
to ask first. 

I've got one week of "Indian Summer" happening now, with temps in the upper 60's today and Saturday, mid 70's for Sunday and even into the low 80's on Friday! It's lovely when Mother Nature decides to allow us a few more days to enjoy autumn before sending the rain and the snows to dampen our enthusiasm. Of course, I have friends who will be looking at their calendars and wishing for snow so that they can get out onto their cross-country skiis or snowmobiles. I state here plainly - I am NOT a snow bunny. I might live in an area that gets a lot of snow and has cold temps, but I put on my snow boots and my long parka, I wear my knitted hats, I scrape the snow and ice off my car, and I wish for Spring. I'm NOT a snow bunny AT ALL. 

Indian Summer is my favorite time of the fall, and it 
doesn't come every year. It's that quick unseasonally 
hot few days that come in the middle of fall, so you get 
the fall colors, but the summer warmth. We're getting 
a little bit of Indian Summer this week and I'm going 
to try and enjoy some outdoor time today, even though 
Friday will be the really warm day. 

I can't really complain, though. My life has turned out pretty darned good, all things considered. Oh, there are still plenty of bumps in the road and arguments to be had, but I've been quite lucky. I've got a good man as a companion, I've got an almost-solid roof over my head, I've got a lovely yard in which to spend off-time, and I have activities that keep me happy and occupied, on-line friends to keep in touch with, and a large extended family who aren't invasive, just there on the perimeters of my life. It's just about perfect - LOL. Now if I could just get retired so that my days are my own, life would be ideal. That too will come, just not as quickly as it would have without COVID interrupting our schedule (actually trashing our schedule and tossing it to the winds). 

Today I'm counting my blessings because I believe in 
focusing on the positive instead of the negative. We all 
have enough negativity in our lives, so find at least 
one bright light in your day today and hold onto it tightly. 

So, as I start my very busy "day off", I hope each of you have a fantastic day spent with a living entity that you love. For me that's DH, for others of my friends it may be their pets or their grandchildren, or just having a video call with a good friend. Whatever floats your happy boat, may you have some of it today. I'll be back tomorrow, ready to dive into work once again. Be safe, be kind and please, wear your mask. 

Welcome to Autumn (or Spring, For My Southern Hemisphere Friends)

I received my Vote by Mail Ballot in the mail on Saturday. I can fill it out and mail it back, or I can take it to one of the Early Voting locations, fill it out there, and let them submit it for me. I might do that today. The closest Early Voting location is my local library, so it would be a good opportunity to revisit the library and do my civic duty, all at the same time. 

This shot from 2016 was taken in early October. I
remember driving on some unfamiliar roads to get 
this vivid red swath across the greens. So pretty. 

DH is adamant - he will stand in line on Election Day at his assigned polling location and cast his vote in person. I think that's fine, but I have no intention of freezing while waiting to get into the doors of the church where we are assigned to vote. I voted by mail for the Primary Election and I'm pretty comfortable with the process, having voted by mail several times over my lifetime. He's concerned that a vote by mail won't be counted. I think it will be just fine and will count just as much as one placed with frozen fingers after standing in a long line. 

In 2017, I remembered the Autumn golds of my youth with
the golden Aspen trees in the Colorado Mountains. Here is 
a photo I posted of Autumn at Maroon Bells close to 
Aspen in the high mountains. My summers were always 
spent in Aspen from the time I was a small child until 
I was graduating from High School. There are times I 
miss my mountains intensely, but I love the lakes of 
my Land of 10,000 Lakes too. 

Yesterday I forgot to welcome everyone to Autumn (or welcome Spring for my Southern Hemisphere friends). I have the not-so-good excuse that I had other things on my brain. It's actually true, but no real excuse. So, I wish all of you a good turn of the seasons as we progress through our year. May it be a kind season to you and your loved ones. 

In 2018 I shared this photo of the colors of Autumn. I 
didn't take this photo, but when I found it, I knew I needed 
to share it with my readers because the colorful 
progression from deep maroon to summer-darkened 
green was so lovely. It deserves to be showcased once 
more as we celebrate the Autumn of 2020. 

Today is my "Day Off" and my roster is quite full, so I'm going to call my blog finished for the day, put in photos of the beauties of Autumn, and yes, I'll put in some scarlet leaves just for my friends who don't see much of the red and orange hues of Fall in their areas. We're not at full leaf-turn for another three weeks, but I'm certainly seeing the beauties of this - my second favorite season, and I love to share. Have an excellent day, be safe, stay well, and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Considering Power - Engines and Nuclear Plants

Several of you suggested I try selling the old equipment on Craig's List or a similar posting method. That's actually a good idea, one that hadn't occurred to me. I'll wait until I'm more mobile and probably try to get that going. We won't get much, but it'll be better than nothing if someone is interested. 

I've never really done much with CraigsList, but I do have an active
neighborhood Facebook group that I might try to post the engines
on. I know people want the engines, but I'd rather clear out my garage. 

Today will be the third day of my return-to-work. It still feels odd setting an alarm for the morning, although I've been awake two hours before it went off every day so far. Still, I'm really slow for my morning showers because ... crutches ... so having extra time really isn't a problem. 

I've been reading through this book and it's excellent.
It's not so filled with techno terms that it can't
be understood, and the Russian names, which can
be a deal breaker sometimes, aren't horrific either.
It's a good one if you're interested in the subject. 

I've been head-deep in a beautifully researched and detailed book on Chernobyl called "Midnight in Chernobyl" by Adam Higginbotham. I've been fascinated with the disaster at the power plant for decades and have read quite a bit about it, but this book is the most comprehensive I've read and it's not too massively technical that I can't understand what was happening and what it really means when a disaster such as this happens. 

My state has two nuclear power plants, one north of the Cities, and one
south. This is the one I'm most familiar with - the Prairie Island nuclear
plant, an hour or so south or the Twin Cities. I suppose, if there's an
accident at either plant, the Cities would have to be considered for
evacuation. That wouldn't be easy - it's a LOT of people. 

We have several nuclear power plants here in the state, one as close as an hour from the Metro area. I've always been hesitant about this type of power generator. I understand the benefits, but it seems like such a toxic way to generate something as ephemeral as power for a toaster or television. I suppose I'm old fashioned in my hesitation, and the safety record of nuclear power plants actually is excellent, but when they go bad, they go very, very bad. And there's also the question of spent fuel - where does something this toxic get put and how many centuries will it remain, poisoning the storage space and the land? Nuclear power makes me uncomfortable. 

On that note, I'm calling it a day and heading upstairs for breakfast. I hope you have a terrific day and I'll be back tomorrow.