Good morning boys and girls and others. Thank you for inviting me. Happy to be here.
It’s Monday, you know. The day when the dead rise to drink coffee and hasten to work.
June 12, 2023. Ashlandia continues to thrive in a glorious stretch of weather. Cooled a little into the mid 80s yesterday, chilled in the low 50s F overnight, now is 68 F and marching toward a high in the upper 80s F. There’s still snow on Mt Ashland if you need a fix.
Papi, the ginger wonder, inspired The Neurons’ music choice today. In the morning mental music stream is playing some Neil Young & Crazy Horse with an electrified ditty from 1977 called “Like A Hurricane”. Papi was galloping about this morning, so I started with him. We were chasing each other around the rooms, hiding, springing out in ambush and sprinting away again. While I was winded, he was still going, prompting me to tell him he was a little orange hurricane. That gave The Neurons the opportunity they sought and here we are.
Stay pos, and be a little chill. I’m motoring on coffee, springing into the day. Here we go. Cheers
Papers, please. We need to check you papers. Don’t you know? It’s Sunday, June 11, 2023. We need to check your papers and see if you’re on the right date and have the correct authorizations for being on this date. You know how it is. You start on one day, then, without any fault on your part, you’re on another. Confusion sets in, forcing you to ask others, “What day is it? What’s the date?” I have a calendar on my way to keep me straight. My computer also shows the day and date. As does my Fitbit. And phone. So I can crosscheck what they claim. I mean, machines, am I right?
Sprimmer is still on tap in Ashlandia. Moody clouds of different sorts and backgrounds. Some block the sun, then the sun re-asserts itself and throws down a hearty blaze. 61 F now, we anticipate highs in the mid 80s. We’re rolling on toward that longest day in the northern hemi, the once called summer solstice. Longest in theory, in general, on average. Our longest day in Ashlandia generally takes places a few days after the ‘official’ date. I suppose it’s because we’re a little rural, and it takes time for news to reach us. Yes, even with computers.
Papi was lounging out by our front porch yesterday in the early evening. I heard people talking through the open window so I looked out. Women walking by had stopped to speak with Papi and admire him. Papi eyed them like an imminent threat. He’s not one for flirting with strangers. I’m about the only one he’s consistently warm with. My wife tries and Papi tries to let her, but the results are uneven.
Had it been the late Quinn, he would have dashed right out there, offering himself up. He was the friendliest and sweetest floof I’ve ever had. The late Boo would have bolted away as soon as he heard them coming. They would have seen him. Scheckter would’ve talked to them but not allow an approach. Most of the rest would have just shrugged them off. As Tucker did later, when he’d joined Papi on the front porch and the women came back down the street. He was completely indifferent to them.
The Neurons have installed “Wondrous Stories” by Yes from 1977 in my morning mental music stream. Started last night when I was watching telly. Had been reading, writing before that, with yardwork and housework mixed in. At that point I was thinking about stories and the book I’d just finished reading. Eventually, I just realizing that “Wondrous Stories” was playing in my head. A mellow tune, has sort of a renaissance sound, not unusual for Yes.
Stay pos. Enjoy your weather wherever you are. By the way, it’s Father’s Day in the U.S. I sent Dad a card and will call him later. He’s in San Antonio, Texas, so I need to adjust for his time and schedule when I make the call. They’re always out at this time. So, first, coffee. Here’s the music. Cheers
It’s a draggin’ Monday. Speaking personally. How else can I speak. Also, it’s a metaphorical speaking, cuz I’m writing.
Monday. March 20, 2023. A series of depressing dreams left me depressed. I feel tired from it all.
The sun managed some light between clouds and rain at 7:14 this morning. Temperature is 36 F with a high of 56 F stealing in. Ashlandia’s sunset, famous around the world for its stupendous resemblance to other landlocked places surrounded by moderate mountains, will be at 7:23. Other than when people are up at one of the mountain wineries sampling a flight, folks rarely mention our sunsets, except for those times when wildfires’ nasty air rewards us with interesting colors.
It’s been raining, and it’s going to rain. As can be expected, it’ll also be mostly cloudy.
I thought I needed a little goofiness infused so I challenged The Neurons to come up with something. They gifted me “Don’t Let’s Start” by They Might Be Giants. The song was released in 1977, but ten years later, in Germany, Bob and I were discussing it at a party, pleased that we knew the song. The convo started when Bob said, “Don’t, don’t, let’s not start,” referencing work, and I replied, “Don’t, don’t, let’s start, this is the worst part.” He told me later, he felt it cemented our friendship.
Alright, coffee is here, and Papi is back in the house, after checking the weather outside — the sun is actually now out, he says, but it’s boring. Stay pos as best as you can. Here’s the music. Cheers
We’re into the week’s repeat cycle. Sunny. Blue and white sky. 35 F. High, 41. Winter warning out for later today. Snow down to 1500 feet. 1-3 inches. Sunrise a minute earlier than yesterday. Sunset a minute later today.
That’s the summary for March 7, 2023. Tuesday.
Got Foreigner’s “Double Vision” from 1978 in the morning mental music stream. Dream brought it on. Won’t encumber you with details. Actually, still sorting it. I will say that I don’t know how “Double Vision” is related.
1978 found me going from Texas to WV, from the military to a restaurant owner and a college student. Hectic period of searching for myself.
It’s a brief ‘un today. My annoyance meter is rising. Just one of those things. Happens once a month. Usually one to two days. Gets really dark sometimes. Don’t know in advance where it’ll fall.
Stay pos if you can. A sip of coffee awaits my lips. Have a better one. Cheers
Happy Valentine Day — or is it Valentine’s Day — or Valentines Day — to you if you’re into that. I’m not. I’ve always considered it the most manufactured of manufactured holidays. My wife, K, was the same when we were younger. She has changed; I haven’t. But then, as she told me when we first dated, “You’re not very romantic, are you?” No, I’m not. I tried being more romantic, but she mocked every effort to be more romantic. So here I am. There’s nature vs. nurture for you.
It’s Tuesday, February 14, 2023. An inch of snow has fallen as part of the great weather warning. They told us we were likely to see six to seven inches in our Ashlandia. People raced around town to buy food and get errands completed before the great storm was upon us. They warned us about it for days. Well, we prepared. But I’d rather be warned and prepared than to not be warned at all.
Sunrise came at 7:09 this morning, not much presence against the dirty white tee shirt that is our morning sky. Temperature is 0 C. Expect a high of 40 F, the weather experts advise, before sunset at 5:42 PM Ashlandia stardard time.
Been addressing Tucker’s health. The big black and white feline suddenly was hobbling and could not jump. He’s aging so I thought, arthritis. Bought some arthritis treats for him. He enjoyed them but he’s always had gum problems and has lost many teeth. They were too much for him. So I crumble a treat each day and put it in about an ounce of hot water, then give him to him with a dropper. It’s made such a difference in his motility, it’s wonderful to witness. The treat is “Pet Naturals Hip and Joint Support Supplement for Cats”. I learned about it from another pet owner a few years ago, and I recommend it.
Have a Fleetwood Mac song called “Never Going Back Again” from 1977 dialed up by The Neutrons. Started from a dream today, but was reinforced by memory. The song came out when I was 21. I was in the military, married, contemplating choices. This song cemented some decisions for me, like, “I’m done with that. Never going back again.”
Stay pos and enjoy your Tuesday, shaping it best that you can. Once I’ve fortified myself with hot black coffee, I’ll try to do the same. Cheers, my friends.
Inventory was conducted. The winds were still. All fences and local trees were standing. Pavement and land were soaked but no flooding. Clouds, but also blue sky and sunshine. Not like NorCal. The storm slammed them. We were on the edge and fared better. Some power outages. All attending the beer group had identified a local tree as a candidate to fall because the trees’ movements or conditions made it seem like the trees were on edge of crashing down.
The wind went into sledgehammer mode yesterday. I saw a delivery man carrying a box across the street go suddenly sideways. A whirl of leaves rushed him, did a little celebration with him as their locus, and flew on, disturbing to new adventures. Delivery man recovered, lowering his head and plunging on. Rain did the drum solos from “Wipe Out” (Surfaris, 1963) throughout the night. Officially, the highest wind gusts were 65 MPH. The roar and thumps made it sound like more.
It’s January 5, 2023. The planet aimed our valley toward the sun at — again — 7:40 this morning. The rotation will move us toward night at 4:53 PM. 50 degrees F is what the thermometer now says but adds the caveat, “feels like 43”. Today’s high will drag itself up to 53 F. A high wind advisory is in effect.
Today’s song is a Boston favorite which The Neurons loaded into the morning mental music stream. “Don’t Look Back” came out in 1977. It was a Randy favorite. Randy is a friend who passed away years ago. A few months older than me, he never made 60 yo. The boy loved his rock. Not looking back feels imperative today. Make plans. Move on them. Don’t look back on your shortcomings and failures. Determine what stopped you and overcome. Press on.
Stay pos and test neg. I look forward to coffee. Here’s the music, and a toast to you, and your day. Cheers
Sunday slipped into space with the weariness of an old ship being brought into port the final time. Rain and cold air heralded his arrival. Lackluster sunrise contributed its presence at 7:29 AM, or as the house floofs term it, midday. They’ve been up a few hours, pranking one another, running around, and asking me to play with them. “In a little while,” I slur with sleep-induced laziness.
Welcome to December 11, 2022.
The floofs have eaten and are now asleep. It’s 2 degrees C out but don’t worry, it’ll spunk up to 44 F before the sun slinks away at 4:39 PM. It’ll get down to 34 F tonight and up to 46 tomorrow before dropping to 25 tomorrow night. We’re expecting snow showers sometime during this up and down cycle.
I have “She’s Not There” in my morning mental music stream. It’s the Santana version. Yeah, a repeat, delivered by Les Neurons after I answered a survey about my recent replacement part shopping experience. I detailed it more in the post, “Replacement Part”. Anyway, I commented to the company that they’re not there on the weekends. Les Neurons shuffled from ‘you’ to ‘she’ faster than a floof can eat a treat. The Zombies did a great job with the Argent written song in 1964. I know it well and admired it. But Les Neurons keep playing Carlos Santana’s guitar from his group’s cover of it in 1977. Who am I to argue with my neurons? Might as well argue with the floofs or muses. Those are all arguments I will lose, along with any engaged with my spouse.
Stay positive, test negative, and if you fail, try again, right? I need some coffee. Here’s Santana and the song. Have a better one. Cheers
We have a new and improved Wednesday at our fingertips. Never sullied by human behavior before, this Wednesday is an ideal gift for Mom or Dad, big brother or little sister, or even —
Excuse me, just a moment. The Neurons are clamoring for my attention.
What? It’s not. Oh. Well.
Sorry for the typo. This is a new and improved Thursday.
Aw, forget it. The magic is gone, the spirit is ruined.
This is Thursday, October 20, 2022, brand new, etc.
Sunshine unveiled itself in our valley at 7:29 AM and will illuminate our life until it’s turned away at 6:21. It’s 57 F now but 86 F is foretold for this afternoon. But the plants are whispering, “Rain is coming.” Not today, but it’s coming.
I have “livin'” on my mind as part of song titles, like “Livin’ on A Prayer”, “Livin’ on A Wing”, “Livin’ on A Hill”, and “Livin’ in a Can”. Don’t know which of those is an actual song, except I’m sure the first one is a Bon Jovi tune. Rising to the moment, The Neurons have thrust “Feels Like the First Time” by Foreigner (1977) into the morning mental music stream. They explain that it fits right in with the fact that this day is a brand-new day. (Side bar: couldn’t they have just used Sting’s “Brand New Day”?) They explain that in the Foreigner song are the words, “Never will again, never again,” which, The Neurons think, makes sense for a brand-new day: it’ll never be again, so make the most of it.
I’ll give them that since I lack the coffee energy to debate them. Stay positive, test negative, etc. Here’s the music. Enjoy it. Also enjoy your brand-new day if you can. We’ll hopefully get another one tomorrow. Now it’s coffee for me.
The door is thrown open, and there it is. Everyone walks in, looking and whispering in awed tones. Friday, revamped and new, was open to the public. Speculation about what to expect from this new Friday had been traveling mouth to ear for months. Now that it was here…well, first, they were excited. Then they were deflated.
Officially, Friday was July 29, 2022. “It’s just like yesterday,” one woman was heard to complain. “Hot and miserable. I waited all week for this?”
The heat is the thing in our area. Currently, 8:30 AM, it’s 26 C. Yesterday, Thursday, reached 106 F at my house, according to my ancient home weather system, with the forecast calling for a high of 108 F. The car claimed it was 111 F at one point. Today’s forecast says the high will be 110 F. Tomorrow, it’s expected to cool off to 107 F, and then drop back below 100 by Monday. We keep our eyes on the skies as thunderboomer clouds build, checking apps for reports of lightning strikes and fire. Knock on wood, we’ve been spared, and the fires have been found and put out fast.
Sunrise came after six this morning, 6:01, and sunset will be at 8:34 PM.
I have “Cold As Ice” by Foreigner in the morning mental music stream. This 1977 song is a deliberate choice as I pursue a ‘mind over environment’ angle for handling the day.
Hope your weather is good, and your day’s experience is great. I know with so much going on that those hopes aren’t always achievable, but let’s make the effort to believe and try to improve our lives. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and vax as needed. Coffee? What, it’s 80 F outside right now. What are you waiting for? Pour.
The rain is crushing it this July, 2022. With rain today, it’s been a rainy start, with showers and storms every day except the first. I’m liking it.
This is Tuesday the fifth. Our overnight low sank to 55 F but the temperature pulled itself up by its bootstraps, to use a worn and inappropriate expression, and now sits at 20 C again. The high will be about 75 to 77 F. Maybe 76, which is twelve degrees below average for the day and twenty-six below the record high. The sun’s initial appearance was at 5:41 AM. Sunset will be: yes 8:50 PM. Again.
While listening to the rain with the window open in the office, I smelled smoke. I mentioned it to my wife. She said it smelled like a bonfire. I looked out for signs of smoke from fires, whereupon The Neurons lit up “Smoke From A Distant Fire” in the mental music stream. I didn’t know who did it or when it was released. I asked The Neurons and they were all like, “Song? Song? What song?” I thought the song might have been released sometime in the 1970s but had to research it to learn it was 1977 and the Sanford-Townsend Band. I felt sorry for them that I knew their song but not them. Still, they’d tried and had temporarily broken onto pop’s big stage and had a moment, right?
Stay positive, etc. This feels like a good coffee day. Excuse me while I get some. Here’s the music. Know the song? Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 