Category: weather

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Sunshine skirts the trees and licks the sky into fresh blue shades. Familiars remind me that I’m home. People say, oh, you made it, as though the standing in lines and sitting in seats that frame commercial air travel in this era was a slog. The slog is behind the scenes, where they’re building and maintaining the machines and coordinating the actions. I’m just a passenger on that plane, just as I’m a passenger on starship Earth.

Sunrise in Ashland today came over us at 7:20 AM. Cool mountain air, measured at 54 F, put a shiver in my body. Gonna be 88 F, the weather wizards say. Smoky haze covered the valley from the Cedar Creek fire further west in the state. Not heavy smoke but enough for you to see it’s there, a reminder of the fire’s existence. Sunset, they tell me, will be 6:34 PM.

Being home is a comfort. Having my wife chatting about all she’s done and is doing and is to do brought me into the groove. Tucker and Papi did their feline duties, purring welcomes, permitting me to show my affections through liberal scratches of their ears, heads, and backs.

Traveling was the mix of fun, weariness, anticipation, and frustration that I’ve come to expect. Being in flight, taking off before sunrise and then having the sun chase us down over the Rocky Mountains delivered plenty of thought fodder. As you know, many sings exist about traveling, aircraft, flight, and sunrise. Plenty for The Neurons to say, oh, there’s a theme song and stick it in my mental music stream. But I found myself watching people, splitting time between clothes, shoes, body language, and faces. Out of watching faces, The Neurons pulled up “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” by Pearl Jam. A song released six million years ago or more, it tells of a woman struggling to remember another’s name, wishing to say hello, and failing. The Neurons were right to pick it up off of the organic reflections generated from my visit home, to places that were and now aren’t, and faces filling with aging’s shifts.

So here we are. Cats are fed, breakfast is eaten, coffee was brewed, its scent inhaled, its pleasant bitterness introduced to my tongue as another fresh experience. Stay pos and test neg, and do the vaccines needed to overcome and move on. I’m with you there.

Here’s the tune. Hope you can enjoy your Wednesday and build on it. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

Monday sprang into action, moving with balletic grace, like River Tam going after reavers.

Yes, it’s Monday! October 10, 2022, for those checking schedules and appointments, the day of the week generally engraved with a moment to see what we have going on in the coming days. I take air travel for a thousand, Alex.

Pittsburgh’s fall finds another cool morning, 45 degrees F with broad and full sunshine. The morning has been building its structure since sunrise kissed the area at 7:26 AM. Temperatures will kick up into the 60s. No rain today. Planetary rotation will shut down daylight at 6:46 PM. Back at home, it’ll be 84 degrees and smokey.

Yesterday’s morning delivered a pleasant interlude. It’s my daily habit to take a cuppa hot joe onto the front porch in the early AM to breathe the air and admire the world. When I stepped out yesterday, a grazing doe across the street raised her head and greeted me. Two chipmunks and a squirrel dashed away, and a ground hog scurried for safety. I regretted interrupting their moments, but the deer returned to her business and the rest drifted back a short while later. Later, the squirrels and chipmunks had some kind of race going on in the backyard. Don’t know if they were the same characters that I saw in the morning, though.

Mom pulled The Neuron’s attention. She was talking about what music she’d like at her service after her demise. One of the songs is “I Call Your Name” by The Mamas and the Papas. She’s been having Alexa play it at least once a day, singing along with it. Naturally, The Neurons became enthralled with it. Mom and I talked about the song. We both remembered watching it on The Ed Sullivan Show. So The Neurons pushed it into my morning mental music stream, fitting, since it’s my last day here. That show episode is available on Youtube, so here it is.

Mom would have been in her early thirties back then, less than half of my current age.

Stay pos, test neg. Yes, I need coffee, how ’bout you? Mom’s home is a decaf zone. My BIL bought me this coffee when I was COVID isolating. I’m brewing the very last grounds today. Perfect timing, right?

Here’s the music. Have a fine one. Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

The wheels on the world go round and round…

Today is Sunday, October 9, 2022. Beautiful and chilly fall morning in the Pittsburgh suburb where I’m staying. It’s 45 F now but it was down by 38 earlier. Perhaps that restrained the animals from rising and taking care of business. Or, they’re like me and said, hey, a little coffee before I face the world.

Shift from night to day was languid, almost tentative, even though physics say, nope, that’s your imagination. Just seemed like it took a while after its initial 7:25 AM showing for the sun to fully exert its presence, like a star who shows up but stays by the wall before moving forward and letting herself be known. We’re looking for a heady high of 15 C. Meanwhile, back in Ashland where I’ll return this week, it’ll be in the 80s F today. Sunset will be at 6:50 this evening.

“Driver’s Seat” by Sniff ‘n’ the Tears is in the morning mental music stream. This came about because it was playing on the radio as I was driving to meet my sister and her hubby for dinner last night. The Neurons said, “We haven’t heard this song in a hair’s age.” I asked them what a hair’s age was. Titters were issued as answer.

“Driver’s Seat” came out in 1978, charted as a hit, but didn’t greatly impact the pop culture landscape. What I always thought about with this song was, that lead singer sometimes reminds me of Gerry Rafferty at places in this song. Also, is Sniff one of the bandmembers? How long have they had that name and what were the circumstances behind it? More likely, it was a novelty approach. Nobody was called sniff. The band liked the word play. Bet they often heard the question, which of you is sniff? Kind of like Pink Floyd being asked, which one is Pink?

The coffee is singing my name. Sounds a lot like David Bowie in his later years. Stay positive, test negative, and endure. Here is the flashback music. Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Here we go again, here we go. Saturday arrived, light as a feather, drifting through the dimensions before catching a solar wave to Earth. Some remember this Saturday, 10/8/22. Others will find it a new experience. More than a few will not know it this time around, as it’s still in their future past.

Daylight coiled through the valley as the Earth’s turn again delivered the sun to view at 7:23 AM. A timid affair, sunlight barely raised the temperature but we were grateful for the light. Diaphanous clouds treated in blues and grays, trimmed with silver, were sailing the sky. It’s 5 degrees C this morning but will breech the fifties, maybe hitting 54 F.

The Neurons pulled up another 1990s musical vehicle. I was thinking about some things being said and wondered, why do they need to be this way? The Neurons said, “What you want is some En Vogue.” What The Neurons meant was there are lines in the song, “Free Your Mind” that ask, “Why must you be this way?” Cranking it up, The Neurons jumped into another stanza where the group sings, “Free your mind and the rest will follow.” I’ve always enjoyed the song as an interesting, edgy hybrid of different genres. Hope you like it, too. This is the first time that I’ve seen the video. Nothing else comes to mind when I hear this song, although it sometimes feels like it has Prince and Lenny Kravitz flavors.

Stay pos, test neg, get vaxes as needed, yeah? I’m going to say yes to a cup of coffee now. You be good, right? Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

Yesterday is past. Today is here.

Today is Friday, October 7, 2022. It’s gonna be a cool one here. A silky silvery layer insulates us from the sun and promises precipitation. Sunrise at 7:22 this morning was smooth and low-key, a gradual unveiling of the fall landscape. Sunset at 6:53 will surrender the land back to night. It’s 51 degrees F now, warmer than the week’s earlier offerings, but we’re only expecting a little beyond 13 C as the high. Meanwhile, my wife tells me our high back home was 91 F.

A dream that I was swimming through green water brought me The Neuron’s music choice. Not much of the dream remains except that the water was green but clear, with good visibility. I could see myself from an external perspective, breath held, bubbles sneaking out of me, panic rising as my air ran out. I struck for the surface and could see it far, far above me. I knew I wasn’t going to make it. Cheeks and lungs bursting, I let my air escape.

But then I discovered, oh, I can breath.

Anyway, thinking about that this morning, The Neurons said, oh, “Nightswimming” by R.E.M. from 1992 would be perfect. I dunno, I replied, because it’s a very mellow morning song. But I do like Michael Stipe’s vocal stylings, so here we are.

Stay positive and test negative. I’ve had my coffee, thanks. Loved that fresh brew smell tickling my nose and energizing anticipation. The first cup was taken out to the cool air on the back porch, where I could enjoy the woods and grass’s dark jade richness. Moments like those are salves on the soul, re-establishing my balance as I contemplate existence.

Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

We’re rocking October’s first week of ’22 in the Steel City. Yesterday delivered a gorgeous day of 70 and a mildly cloudy sky. Will today to the same?

A bright sunshine unveiled clear skies and a calendar-worthy autumn dawn at 7:22 this morning. Sunset will be at 6:53 PM. Meanwhile, it’s 47 degrees F with a high of 19 degrees C in the forecast. Among the trees’ greenery, leaves are shimmering with reds, blazing with yellows, stirring in gold and orange. Today is Thursday, October 6, 2022.

Animal activies have waned in the yard since autumn throttled summer and declare its intentions. One deer in the past three days. Chipmunks are busy, the red squirrel and gray squirrels aren’t seen as much, and the ground hog only made one appearance. More birds are active and present. I wonder if this is part of their staging to head south.

I’m suffering computer constipation problems. Things don’t want to load. Small messages in the corner announce things like “Waiting for google analytics” as the little thing at the top spins like a clothes dryer drum with a heavy, wet load. Tedious beginning to the day. Haven’t had my morning cuppa coffee so my brain cries out, “Alas, alas, why me, cruel world, why me?”

Musically, The Neurons loaded “Movin’ On” by Bad Company from 1974 onto the pathways. Sis and I were driving around on errands yesterday. Familiars from my past ferreted their way into the moment. Like, hey, I know this road. So-and-so lived up there. This street looks familiar. Oh, yeah, and there’s where that guy jumped John. Well, we were driving from town to town, and although The Neurons also loaded a few other songs in response to the memory cycle, “Movin’ On” won the morning mental music loop.

Now I must get coffee, ‘kay? Stay pos and so on, ‘kay? Here’s the tune. Close your eyes and relive the seventies for a mo’.

Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Last night’s sunset was like gold dust was thrown across the sun’s final rays for the day. Pretty and fascinating, shared as photos by a few, it caused me wonder: what’s in the air reflecting the light like that and giving that color?

Today is Wednesday, mid-week of October’s first week. I’ve been here in Pittsburgh a few, visiting, helping Mom and the fam. Also learning the dynamics of who is cool to who, or angry with another family member, and what words and questions to avoid like it’s a UXB.

It’s October 5, 2022. In my mind, we’re racing toward completion of the first quarter of this century. So much potential floats in the air like the stuff turning our sunset gold last night. Sunrise today is silvery clean, coming on at 7:21, about twenty minutes after I opened the back door, stepped into the 42 F air, and breathed deep. The weather the announced it’ll be 70 F and sunny today. I’ll pop the shorts back on. Sunset will sneak in at six minutes before seven in the evening.

Mom is doing a lot better by day. All her appointments and visits went well. Strength, balance, and co-ordination is returning. Her old personality and ways are emerging out of the sickness morass. But as noted, some things require walking on eggshells, broken glass, smoking coals. Gently, gently, lest you alienate another or get hurt yourself. Caution will see you through. Taking it in, The Neurons said, “This sounds like an opening for Annie Lennox.” They commenced playing “Walking on Broken Glass” from 1992. The album was part of my wife’s music rotation when we cleaned house every Saturday in the mid 1990s, so I heard it a chunk o’ times.

Stay positive and test negative. Coffee has already answered my call. Needed it to assist Mom with some matters and present her breakfast. Ready to jump into the day, starting with a shower. Here’s the tune. Y’all have a good ‘un.

Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Sunlight highlighted a ridge of blue clouds in the eastern sky at 7:20 AM in Pittsburgh. Looks like another day of sun and clouds and temperatures in the mid 40s F to low sixties F. Autumn is taking a firmer hold as leaves acquiesce their green and yield to becoming other things. They’re good with going with the flow. Sunset arrives at 6:56 PM. Yes, we’ve broken the 7 PM barrier.

The shrinking daylight portion seems accelerated during my Pittsburgh time. Less than three weeks ago, I’d rise, go to windows, open blinds, and see the day beginning as the sun crested the east. Now, I wait for a few minutes before enough light announces that sunrise is coming.

I was out with Mom and a sister yesterday, escorting Mom to PCP and MRI appointments, and picking up ointment at a store. As she drove, my sister kept talking about road signs, particularly a large ROAD CLOSED sign sitting in some grass, surrounded by trees, on a road that no longer exists, which we used to take as a shortcut. Next thing I know, The Neurons have snuck “The Sign” by Ace of Base (1993) into the mental music stream. It’s a frothy song, a little techno, simple lyrics and an easy beat, which hooks minds with its simplicity. When I first heard the song, I thought I already knew it. Like many songs I feature here as theme music, I’d never seen the video before.

Short post today. Stay positive, test negative, get your boosters. Coffee and breakfast are calling. Have a better one. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

Here in Pittsburgh, PA, Monday, October 3, 2022, appears to a lovely autumn day. That’s the message given out by the 7:19 sunrise. No clouds. Comfortable 40 F with expectations of 62. Slow silvery rise over the trees that began sunnier and brighter. The silver found gold and the air found warmth.

Mom has appointments today, including her PCP, so I’m up getting ready for that. Computer had issues yesterday that I addressed but some issues lingered from that. My wife left a voice mail on my phone that she has Internet issues at home, so she needs to call me so I can walk her through rebooting. Gonna be a busy day.

Looking at photos all over Mom’s house, I thought about growing up. The Neurons fed in the line, “To face this on my own, well, I guess that this is growing up.” Just like that, Blink-182’s 1997 song, “Dammit”, is in the morning mental music stream. It’s a straightforward song, fast beat, nice sound that I always enjoyed. Hope you do as well.

Now must go grow up. Kick into adulting gear. Stay positive, test negative. Excuse me, I gotta go get coffee. Adulting requires coffee. Have the best one you can.

Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Graylight heralded dawn and a tombstone-like sky at 7:17 this morning. The red squirrel was busy early, a crimson slash racing across the emerald lawn and through the trees. He was probably making up for yesterday, when steady rain gifted to us by Hurricane Ian kept the wildlife passive and sheltered. The deer did show yesterday and popped into the side yard outside the kitchen window as I prepared Mom’s breakfast just after sunrise.

Today is October of 2022’s first Sunday, and the second day of the month. Birthdays galore this month for our tribe. July and October are our busiest birthday months. This day will see lows of 50 F and highs of 64 with light rain. Sunset cometh this evening, 7:01 PM.

Mom continues improving. Next week will be a big challenge, with three doctor appointments and seven home visits – physical and occupational therapists, nurse, and nurse aide. I’ll probably be flying west to home the week after, I think. I miss my partners, aka my wife and floofs. I’ve only been here 22 days but it seems longer. My days are more idle as Mom gets healthier and does more for herself. I’m deliberately drawing back, mindful as I do, to test her skills, along with her partner. He’s 92 and well-meaning, in decent health, but he gets tired and forgetful, totally understandable.

BTW, did you see that after Ian’s strike on Florida and the southeastern US, and his travels up the Atlantic coast, another storm is intensifying and heading towards Mexico. Busy storm season. The death and destruction already seen is enervating and demoralizing.

I have Veruca Salt orbiting the morning mental music stream with their song, “Seether”, from 1994. The song is a throwback, solid grunge, simple chords, a steady beat. The band’s name is familiar from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Originally hearing it caused a double take followed by a short burst of laughter. Anyway, the song came into my head when I was dealing with Mom yesterday. She’d become worked up about an issue and I started chatting with her to distract her and calm her down. Lo’, The Neurons awoke and said, “Hey, that reminds me of that Veruca Salt song,” and here we are.

Side note: today’s post was delayed by house guests.

Stay positive, and test negative, and so on, and do what you need to take care of yourself and your people and tribe. I’d have coffee, thanks. Here’s the music. Hope you enjoy it.

Cheers

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