Category: walking

General Updates

Watching, walking, reading, writing, cats…that’s my world. Oh, and the wife. And eating and sleeping. And games. Cleaning house. Shopping. Can’t forget Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Sudoku. And two DIY projects. And keeping up with the news.

All family except my wife are several thousands of miles away. Literally on the other U.S. coast. We’re on the west and they’re on the east. Visiting under COVID conditions is problematic. The best way would be to drive across the country. I supposed we can pile the cats into the car and do that. I don’t think it would be a pleasant trip for cats or humans.

  1. We’re watching The Expanse. When Amazon began airing the final season, my wife proposed that we watch the series from the start and then indulge in the final season. It’s worked well. We find ourselves speaking in Belter slang after watching an episode. We limit ourselves to one per night.
  2. Also on the watch list is Anxious People, Cowboy Bebop, Bordertown, and Undercover on Netflix, Myth Quest on Apple +, and Third Watch and The Rook on The Roku Channel. Vera and Would I Lie to You are back in play on Britbox, and PBS offers us Around the World in Eighty Days (a rebooted series with David Tennant) and the new season of the rebooted All Things Great & Small on PBS.
  3. We just finished Upright, an Aussie series about a man with issues taking an upright piano to Perth, and Firebite, another Aussie original, with an interesting twist on vampires. These came to us via AMC+, along with Ragdoll, Kin, and Stella Blomkvist. I usually keep three to four channels on subscription per month. I rotate the subscriptions. I figure, why not? A monthly subscription usually costs between one and two coffee drinks or beers. Not bad, to me. Funny, but the most expensive subscriptions are from Showtime and HBO Max, and they usually have the least enticing fare. I watch for them on special. Amazon and Roku both chase new subscribers with deals. My AMC+ subscription this month and my Showtime subscription last month were both just $.99 for the month. Very good deal.
  4. Reading is a constant. I’m now reading Binti by Okarafor and Bewilderment by Powers. Both are beautifully written. Just finished were Harlem Shuffle, When We Cease to Understand the World, Fortune Favors the Dead, Find You First, When We Were Orphans, Hell of a Book, and Telephone. Ondeck is an old Jack Vance novel bought at the library for $1, Louise Penney, Caleb Carr, Amor Towles, and others.
  5. My average walking distance per day remains 11.2 miles. I range from 75 to 80 miles a week. This warm weather, my improved ability to walk and run in-place while reading or watching television, and the longer periods of daylight, all contribute to the sustained average. Also, there’s nowhere else to go with COVID still playing hot and fast.
  6. Despite all my walking, I have gained weight. Twelve pounds. Gads. The discovery shocked me. Beginning to work on the plan to whittle that off. Just don’t like carrying it.
  7. I did put together one jigsaw puzzle this year. I did start it last year, though. I enjoy them, but they absorb me and steal focus. So, no. I reluctantly set them aside.
  8. My poor fur friend, Boo, continues to cope with his cancer. He’s a mess. A mass on his jaw keeps him from eating properly. It’s a challenge for him and me. I’m his primary caregiver. He often drools after eating and can only eat small portions at a time. But he’s still trying, so my wife and I will keep trying. I crunch his grain-free kibble and make it into a sort of chunky soup as his favorite. His drooling means that we chase after him with tissues to catch the drool. It’s hit and miss, as we’re not up twenty-four hours a day. The hardwood floors take hits and require mopping a few times a day. I put several towels down for him to sleep and eat upon. Those are changed each day. We wash several loads of Boo material each week. We wonder, how long can he go on like this?
  9. The other two cats are doing well. They give Boo space, which he and I appreciate. Tucker and Papi are endearing characters.
  10. Still editing The Constant, my novel in progress. Halfway through the process. I’ve begun the next novel in that series. Working title is Fiveland. Couldn’t help myself. Was reading Bewilderment when the next novel’s plot and opening both slammed into me. Trotted on in and wrote the first chapter and began sketching the plot and story in my mind.

That’s all my happenings. Hope you’re all staying busy and healthy out there. Drop me a line. Let me know. Time to return to writing and editing like crazy, then go for a walk. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Ah, Thursday’s floof is full of food, moping around with little to do, washing off their paws and face, showing off their furry grace.

Today is January 20, 2022. The sun’s daily visit commenced at 7:34 AM and will stretch to 5:10 PM. During these hours, meteorologists project that the temperature will rise from its current vicinity of 48 degrees F to a high of 58 degrees F, giving us another warm winter day. We really need snow on the mountains to build up the snowpack. Time to break out some snow dances.

I was out walking yesterday, enjoying sunshine and fresh air since it’s here, in our little city, and began playing a favorite writing variation of what-if. This what-if project involved walling the city and unfolding ideas about why it would be walled. Naturally, alternative timelines are involved, such as creating a medieval kingdom for this area, or walling and doming it in the future.

The activity summoned forth the spirit of Sting. His 1985 song, “Fortress Around Your Heart”, began playing, where it remained in the morning mental music stream. I always enjoy how he enunciates ‘city’ in various lines, such as, “It took a day to build the city”.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vaccine and booster when you can. Here’s the music. I’m afraid I must go find the coffee. Think it’s in the kitchen. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

The results have been collected and tabulated. I am pleased to announce that today is Thursday, January 6, 2022. The sun came up in the east at 0740 and will set in the west at 1654. Our outside temperature by my home is 51 degrees F under partly cloudy skies and bright sunshine. Our expected high is 53 F. It’s a heat wave. One cat is out there loving it, washing himself in the backyard sunshine. The other two have gone back to bed.

To quote a friend about COVID-19:

“The Covid data by Zip Code is, unfortunately what you might expect from Omicron.

Locals seem to be tired of following guidelines.  Hopefully this is primarily due to the unvaxed.

Ashland (Zip 97520) averaged 26/ week fir the first 4 weeks of December; last week it was 52; and this week thru 1/5 it is 125.

Mark’s estimate of peaking in 4 to 6 weeks may be correct; but how high will the peak be?”

Yes, the numbers are stunning. My wife and I went shopping this morning, in the store at 8 AM. Wearing N95 masks, we stopped at two stores. All were masked at the first although one woman wore her mask below her nose. (Really, WTF?) All were masked at the second initially but there was an unmasked jackass at the end. Which summarizes things in hard focus: while you do what you can, there will be jackasses screwing up the best of plans.

Listening to a 1975 Earth, Wind, and Fire song, “That’s the Way Of The World”, in my morning mental music stream. Song’s presence is directly attributable to a late afternoon walk yesterday. Sunset’s last vain rose was touching on the mountain’s white tops across the valley. A little drizzle had been falling but it was pleasant trekking in the 50 degree day. The ingredients spilled peace of mind into me. From there came this mellow song:

You will find (you will find)
Peace of mind (yeah, ha)
If you look way down
In your heart and soul
Ahh, don’t hesitate
‘Cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart
Ahh, ’cause you’re never
Never old at heart (never, never, never, never, never, never)
Oh, yeah… yeah, ha

h/t to Genius.com

Stay positive, test negative, defend yourself against jackasses by wearing a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you can. Here’s the music. Time for another cuppa coffee. Cheers

Earth, Wind & Fire (8/11) – Thats the way of the world – YouTube

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Sun, glorious sun! Warm and bright sunshine. Makes me feel so fine.

Yes, the fog is gone. The cats and I were out at sunrise (7:02 AM), exulting that Tuesday, November 16, 2021, was fog free. A caveat was injected, though: sunny, but not overly warm. The temperature was hovering at 37 F at that point. It’s since climbed to 45 F. They claim it’ll scale the thermometer all the way to the mid-fifties today. Looks like solid walking weather. I’m planning a late afternoon excursion but will carry a flashlight in case I’m out there after 4:48 PM, when the sun does its disappearing trip. Good to have a flashlight when you’re out in the dark. Besides the cars who won’t see you and will whack you, bears and cougars have been spotted in the area. I’ll hold the flashlight up to my face so that they can see who I am, should I encounter them, and reassure them that I mean no harm and don’t appear too tasty.

Today is jab day for wife and me. We received the J&J vax months ago. Today we go for the Moderna booster. We’re excited.

My spirit has been juiced to audaciously high levels today. The song running in my morning mental music stream is “Roll with the Changes” by a little band called REO Speedwagon from 1978. It’s a fast-moving rocker with encouraging lyrics, though it has been posted as the theme music a few years ago.

So if you’re tired of the same old story,
Oh, turn some pages
I will be here when you are ready
To roll with the changes, yeah, yeah

h/t to lyricsdepot.com

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and booster when you can. Now coffee is singing in the other room, “Keep on brewin’, keep on brewin’.” I’m gonna go see what that’s about. Have a better one. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Come aboard my friends to the show that never ends, the water’s rough but the music is fine. Tis Wednesday, November 10, 2021, a gray bannered day in this realm. Sun and blue are trying to break through but the mean ol’ clouds keep denying them time. The world’s spin brought the sun’s presence up at 6:55 AM and it’ll be spun away from us at 4:55 PM. Meanwhile, chill is the word for the air. 42 F now, 53 and rain in the near future hours. Grab some rain gear or be wet if you’re going walking.

Had a banging walk yesterday. Pushed myself further, harder, faster against a soft, gloomy wind and a tranquil gray and blue sky. Wound up sweat drenched. Always feels good to sweat like that, hear the muscles say, “Hello, what’s going on.”

A raft of dreams carried me through the night. Documented a few from that nocturnal journey. Left me on the bedside this AM, thinking, life is a riddle. My brain added, “I’m really stumped.” I then said, hmmm, and remembered those are lyrics from something. Wasn’t until ten, fifteen minutes, while in the can, that the lyrics were fit to a melody and group, emerging, self-assembled, as “Gotta Get Away” by The Offspring, 1995. That was the year of my military retirement, and the sentiment, gotta get away, was strong by the time I put my papers in. This was after turning down some assignments. One was plum, the other sucked, and the third was bizarre. Ergo, gotta get away.

Some lyrics reminder from the song:

I tell you, something just ain’t right
My head is on loose but my shoes are tight
Avoiding my friends ’cause they all bug
Life is like a riddle and I’m really stumped
If you reason, don’t you know
Your own preoccupation is where you’ll go
Being followed, I look around
It’s only my shadow creeping on the ground

h/t to AZLyrics.com

Stay positron, test negatron, wear a mask as needed to protect yourself and others, and get the vax and booster when you can for the same reasons. Here’s my coffee and the music. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Salutations to the inhabitants of Gaia. We’re continuing a new theme of calling days this month ‘November’ and numbering them. Today is Wednesday, November 3, 2021. Sunrise kicked in like a toddler at 7:46 AM and will waddle out at 6:02. While it’s battleship gray this AM, with sunlight relegated to the level of a dim bar at happy hour, we expect the temperature to go from its current realm in the low fifties to the upper sixties. I’m meeting with friends at a brewery. We’re all vaxxed and we’ll be sitting outside at a picnic table. There, we were enjoy a local brew. Maybe two.

With rain and it being November, you’d think I’d be thinking of “November Rain”, but I didn’t. Instead, trudging up a steep, steep hill during yesterday’s constitutional, I told myself, gasp, “Breathe in, breathe out.” Quickly, my mental Alexa picked up on the words and introduced “Machinehead” by Bush from 1994. It’s one of the songs I frequently listened to on my short morning commute from NAS Moffett base housing where I lived over to Onizuka AS, where I worked in California during those years. The commute was just long enough to listen to one song, then done. I enjoyed remembering it, and introduce as today’s theme music.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, distance when necessary, and get the vax and boosters when ye can. Here’s the music. There I go. Into the kitchen. That’s where the coffee is. Cheers

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