day.......times they are a changin.....372

 Sorry Bob Dylan, I don't like time changes

    My circadian rhythm gets all messed up.  

    Talking about messed up, take our the r in circadian and you get cicadian, a Latin term relating to "of or about a bug,  the common cicada."

    I made that up.

    My horrendous sleep habits are about get worse because of the time change.  Now when I go to bed at 10 it is actually 11, which means when I get up at 8 it's really 9 and sometimes I sleep until 10, which is 11.  If I don't get to sleep till 1, it's really 2 but 9, which is really 8, still comes along and there I am.

    Understand?

    So....to get a head start on going to bed at 10 (9) I am showing pictures for the rest of this entry.

    Enjoy.

I found a hummingbird nest at Nachusa Grasslands.

I have taken up a new hobby......wildlife drawing....he does have ears.  (It's an elephant.)

This is not an elephant.

    This roadway was made by mice or ground squirrels during the winter.  I guess I better get out the traps early this year.

Stay safe.  Stay healthy

Peace and Love

day....yum.....371

 We had a "normal" night !

    Friends came over bearing pizza and brownies, and for a few hours we acted pretty normal.  I believe all of us have had our shots, but we did maintain social distancing. It was a great evening.

    So thanks Kevin, Jen, Sandy and Samantha, who provided much of the entertainment for the night.  Where do kids get the energy and how can I tap into that?

    I spent some time raking in the front yard today.  I have contacted the high school for some Interact students to rake the front yard in early May, but I have some grass seed to spread so I raked a part of the yard today.

    Dogs and grass do not mix.  Corki has left several "dead" spots in the yard.  I bought a seed mixture that is designed for areas where dogs do their duty.  I figured get it down now so when the snow hits this week, it will be in place and ready to sprout.  I read somewhere that it was good to spread seed before a snow...we'll see.

    I was surprised how tired I got after raking about a 5 foot by 10 foot area.  My arms were sore and I was physically exhausted.  I guess I am not that youngster I imagine I am.

    Here's another strange thing.

    Caffiene keeps you awake, right?

    Thursday at 3 had a Starbucks....slept well.

    Friday at 3 had a vanilla latte from Cypress House.  Slept like a log.

    I don't get it.

Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day......going, going.....370

A picture says 1,000 words

Or something like that.

A metaphore for life?  Or just this year?

Stay safe.  Stay healthy.

Peace and Love

 

day.......Otis??.......369

Sometimes my life, and emotions, are like an elevator 

    Hell, they ARE an elevator.

    Today was no different, except in how fast the ride was.

    I had a nice conversation with a neighbor about the little shrine that has been erected in the park across the street.  It came after the tornado and was in the hollow of a tree taken down by the storm.

    That was 2015.  Age caught up to it, so it apparently is going away.

    I was thinking it would be a neat story for the paper, (up)  but the man did not want his picture or his name mentioned. (down) 

    Then he said he only read one newspaper regularly, the Wall Street Journal, because it was balanced, and only watched Fox News because they were fair and unbiased.  He was serious.  (down)

    I took my bike to a bike shop for a tune up.  Walked the bike in and the man said something and turned around.  I followed and he stopped and looked at me and said, "I guess you did not hear me when I said wait there."  I told him I had a hearing loss and was not wearing my hearing aids, so no, I did not hear him.  (down)

    I then attempted to back up to where he wanted me.

    Ever see dominoes fall?

    He had about 20 bikes lined up and I hit the third one, (down)  which knocked over the second one (down), which knocked over the first one (down) which almost took out his counter but missed. (up)

    To his credit, he did not yell.

    I went to Target and ran into two former coteachers.  We had a brief but great exchange and I was glad to learn they and their families are doing well.  I had their children in school, and they were great kids.  Sounds like they still are. (up 3 floors)

Went to a grocery store because they sell Mighty Vine tomatoes, the locally grown tomato that is so good it makes other vine ripened products blush.  Saw a display of daffodils, bought some, used my list to buy yogurt, cottage cheese and headed for Starbucks. (UP)

Used my app, ordered ahead, picked up quickly, (up) headed for home and realized I never bought the freakin tomatoes! (down)

Driving home, doing 45 in a 45, the light on Flagg Road at 20th Street turned yellow and I was too close to stop, so I think I went through a red. (down)  Luckily the person on 20th did not pull out, otherwise I would be in huge trouble, maybe even in the hospital (Up)

Got home, worked on my writing, started supper so we could eat before my 7 p.m. musuem meeting, was almost ready to make a BLT with a not so good vine ripened in Canada tomato when the phone rang at 6:02.

People were wondereing where I was, since as VP I was running the meeting tonight and it does start at 6. (down)

Finished meeting with only one person being able to hear me and relaying the conversation (down), had a great supper, even though it was late, (up) listened to the president, (up) and hear I am.

I am not sure if I am in the penthouse, basement or ground floor.

Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day.....tv.....368

 Sometimes I am perplexed by television

    My vexation this month is our cable bill,  which now is north of the $300 line...which I think is outrageous.

    I plan on calling and complaining and asking how it can be cut.  We have tv, telephone, internet and home security.  When we signed up for the home security they told me it was cheaper to keep the land line because a bundle of four is cheaper than a bundle of three. And they gave me a special rate, which has now expired.

    But $300 is a lot of moolah.

    I am one of those people who like to record shows to watch later.  I have about 20 recorded episodes of shows.....and I never watch them.  I thought Zoey's Incredible Playlist would be good to watch so I record that....but never watched it. Underground Chicago?  Been recorded for about a year.  

    These are shows Jackie probably would not like, which is why I recorded them.  I honestly thought this winter I would watch them, plus sort pictures, go through slides, lose 20 pounds. learn to play the piano, speak fluent French....but winter is over and I have not done any of that.

    I have been watching a couple of British shows:  Miranda and Mrs. Brown's Boys.

    Miranda is the basis for Kat on American TV.  To be honest, I watched one episode of Kat and vowed never to watch another.  But Miranda?  Brilliantly funny and well written.

    Julia said Mrs. Brown's Boys was sophomoric, but funny.  I laugh a lot during that show, so I don't know if it's my maturity level or something else.  By the way, if certain words that rhyme with duck and luck offend you, I don't suggest you watch.

    It is filmed live, and sometimes things go wrong and ..... they don't edit it out!  The cameras just keep rolling.  Sometimes Mrs. Brown will be waxing philosophically about something and in the middle of her speech a character will enter early.  Mrs. Brown will say something like, "Ain't ya supposed to be upstairs"? or "Wait for the cue for cryin sakes."

    She did a particularly poignant speech and the audience went "awww" and she looked at them and said, "It's a tv show and I'm a man in a skirt for f----in sake."

    I thought it was funny.  Even us sophomores need to laugh.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.  Hang on tight, it's windy out there.

Peace and Love

day....oops II.........367

I did not realize oops was a transmissable condition 

    I discovered today it was.  First someone dropped a hair care product.  Then someone dropped another hair care product.  Then someone dropped a mirror.

    I won't mention names, but my hair needs no care.

    And the mirror did break.  Actually, that is a good sign because it means we have 7 more years.  Yes, they will be years of bad luck, but at this age I will take any extra days offered.

    Writing this blog is fairly easy.  Writing my weekly column for the local paper is fairly easy.

    I have been writing a book for about 7 years.  I have finished it, sort of.  Every time I read it I think of something to add, so in essence it may never get finished and I won't wint a Pulitzer Prize for Nonsensical Fiction.

    I truly admire people like Molly and Judy who have published multiple books. I wish I had their grit.

    The other problem is, I get bored.  So I do something else.  I have started 2 other books, and I forsee the same problem.....I will be 110 and still revising.

    Today I told Jackie I am taking 90 minutes a day for writing.  I will edit, revise, develop, read, research.....but I will do that for 90 minutes a day.    I know 90 minutes is not much, but it is a start.  Maybe that will focus me, and motivate me, to finish one of the books.

    Or not.  I just don't want to let it go, you know?  It's a dream, and I hate giving up on those.

    So....that's all I got!

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.  Stay focused.

Peace and Love

oops

 Let's just say this was an oops day

    First off, I slept well last night.  I knew you were all on the edge of your seats wondering.

    My little friend Xanax helped.  I went to bed before 11, but at 12:30 I broke down and took the pill.  (Rolling Stones kept going through my mind....go running for the shelter of her mother's little helper and it helps her ease the way gets her through her busy day, or something like that)  I slept well after that.

    But today was kind of an oops day.  And Corki benefited.

    I spilled granola all over the floor.  By the time I got the broom, Princess Croki had pretty much cleaned up all but the very little pieces.

    Then I dropped a cup of yogurt on the floor, and it squirted in several directions.  Dogs like yogurt!   Who knew.

    I went into the pantry to get Jackie's cottage cheese for lunch.

    I went into the little bathroom to get her purse, which hangs in the closet in our bedroom.

    I went into town to walk and return the video to the library, but I didn't bring the video.

    I looked in the refrigerator for the cutting board.

    I'm thinking my mind might not have been  crystal clear today.

    I did manage to grill hamburgers outside.  It felt good to stand in the driveway, in the brisk spring like air, sipping a wine and listening to the quiet while smelling burning cow. 

    Burgers tasted great, Rainwater corn from last summer was great, wine was great..... not a bad way to cap off an oops day.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.  Avoid the oops.

Peace and Love