Ziggy, like most cats, is a vigilant fellow. He keeps track of what’s going on in the house and if anything is suspicious, he carefully investigates. When he’s ready, that is. As I’ve written recently, I’ve been moving a lot of things around in our upstairs, shifting my desk, bookcases and assorted ephemera from the […]
Read More V is for VigilantAs I wrote about yesterday, I’m working on the reset of the upstairs space of our house. I’ve moved my desk and bookcases, and the guest room is tidied, ready for next weeks guest. Is all my clobber sorted and put or given away? No. Is more done today than was done yesterday? Yes. Did […]
Read More U is for UndoneI’m working on some tiresome projects. A year ago, I cleared out the office I had seen clients in for the past 20 years. I left much of the furniture for the next occupant (with their permission), but I had some containers full of the usual desk miscellany as well as client records. I sorted […]
Read More T is for TiresomeApril 22, 2023. Its grey and snowing lightly. We got about 2 inches overnight. Most unpaved surfaces are covered with snow, although the roads and walks are clear, having held heat from previous days. It’s not unusual for us to get snow in April, in fact the only months I recall without snow in my […]
Read More S is For SnowLike many things in my life these days, gardening is undergoing reconsideration. I’ve had a vegetable garden every year since I moved into this house in 1987. I have enjoyed the fruits and vegetables of my labors, and still look forward to delicious home grown organic produce. However, like a lot of routines, I’m pretty […]
Read More Peas, PleaseMy local zip code starts with 800. So the community facebook groups all have oh oh in part of their title. I’m not a particular fan of FB, and I do find it useful for connecting either with people scattered around the world, or for communicating within our community. Very helpful for finding resources for […]
Read More O is for Oh-ohNothing big on the schedule. Day to day stuff, small events and activities. It will likely remain this way, given BA’s health challenges. We may make a visit to her family in Madison this summer, and her sister in law is coming for a visit in two weeks, but that’s about it I think I’m […]
Read More N is for NothingBA and I walked down to the little fishing pond today. Its cool and breezy and sunny, welcome after yesterday’s rain and snow. On the pond, there were a few geese, a turtle taking the sun on the mini island, and ducks, both mallards and mergansers. The mallard pair I saw were staying close to […]
Read More M is For Mergansers, Mallards and MeadowlarksLight. It’s essential to our lives. Without the light and heat of the sun, we wouldn’t be here on this planet. Plants convert light, air and water to food, animals eat plants and each other, and so on. One way or another, we are all attuned to light, gathering information about our world. Light from […]
Read More L is for LightWith apologies to Monty Python for the title. Walking through my nearby arboretum, I noticed a a small backhoe parked along a trail. Once I reached it, it was clear a tree had been dug out, and there were piles of branches nearby, along with this sign: The fire passed through this area, burning most […]
Read More Killed or Not dead Yet?Why? I love the color. Blues are my favorite colors, although I like all of them. But the gorgeous deep blue of indigo, the color of the sea or sky at evening, flowers that seem to shine and glow, there’s a magic there. And on feathers, once again I find delight. Written for blogging from […]
Read More I is for IndigoAs I wrote in G is for garage, I have a new car occupying my garage, and my plan was to donate my old car, a 2006 Honda Civic. While 17 years old, it’s been a very reliable car, and despite a few external dings, its really in excellent shape. Were it not for the […]
Read More H is for hurryNot a very glamorous subject, garages. I got my first car following graduation from college. Until I bought the house I currently live in 10 years later, I didn’t have a garage, and parked wherever I could find a place on the street. Nine of those years were in Chicago, a city well known for […]
Read More G is For GarageI’ve long enjoyed athletic activities, whether hiking or swimming, bicycling, skiing, gymnastics or skating. As you might surmise from this list, I’m more of an individual rather than a team/ball sports person. I think some of that is due to the fact that I’m an introvert, and some due to it sometimes being difficult to […]
Read More F is for FunI’ve been in the process of looking into “electrifying” my home. It’s part of the process of moving away from a dependence on fossil fuels, and increasing the efficiency of power requiring appliances. I’ve been following heat pump development for years (thanks, This Old House) and finally, the above ground versions have become quite functional […]
Read More E is for ElectricAt the beginning of the pandemic, there were a lot of don’ts, regarding masks, exposure, risks; there was a lot known in general about transmission and even more unknown about this new virus. Being a medical person, I was able to read and understand a lot of the recommendations, and also was well aware that […]
Read More D is for Don’tJohann Sebastian Bach is my favorite composer. There are many others, of many genres, whose music I also love, but when in doubt, give me Bach. This was reinforced for me yesterday. It was one of those days when I awoke out of sorts, irritable, sensitive, prone to take things personally, not unlike an overtired […]
Read More B is for Bach“What would you have named after you if you could”? The above is today’s WordPress prompt and today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt is influencer. Related concepts, for sure, and one that I find quite unhealthy in many cases. Influencers, using one’s social media presence to essentially be an advertiser. It seems to play off the cult […]
Read More Bad Influence?It’s April and so the beginning of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I haven’t signed up yet, and once again, I’m ambivalent about doing so. Today is the first day of my second year of retirement, and I remain reluctant to take on obligations and scheduled events. And, I would like to do more […]
Read More A is for . . . .I don’t quite recall what I wanted at five, although I know a few years later I alternated between wanting to be a gym teacher and a math teacher. A friend of mine during my med school years recalled wanting to be a trash truck (not the person, the truck) when he grew up. It […]
Read More And what do you want to Be, dear?The Marshall Fire hit Dec 30, 2021. Fifteen months ago. In a matter of hours, fueled by extreme winds and dryness, more than 1000 homes and businesses were destroyed, as well as acres of open space burned. My town, Louisville, lost 550 homes; whole neighborhoods are gone. I was fortunate. The destroyed homes begin […]
Read More Fifteen Months LaterNow if was a secret skill or ability I have, it would no longer be a secret if I wrote about it, would it? What would I like to have? My cat just came downstairs meowing. He wants something. What, I’m not sure. He has food, water, a clean box, I just gave him drugs […]
Read More Another Language?Its officially spring here in the northern hemisphere and our weather these days is fairly typical. Bright and sunny, relatively warm days split time with cloudy, cool windy days and some snow thrown in for general entertainment. Yesterday morning, it was clear, sunny and breezy and cold, (20F/-7C). I looked out my back window where […]
Read More Bright Days comingThe WordPress writing prompt for today is where I would put the tattoo I want. The Ragtag daily prompt for today is anachronism. I don’t have a tattoo and don’t want one. I suppose that does make me an anachronism. Permanent skin decorations are suspect to me–its one thing if I occasionally add colorful stripes […]
Read More Not for me, thank youWell, that certainly fits March weather here in Colorado and many other places. Yesterday was balmy, today its cold and windy and there’s a chance of snow. Snow on early flowers is normal. On to other predictable problems that occur unpredictably: shootings. Today is the second anniversary of the King Soopers shooting. I’d forgotten the […]
Read More Predictably UnpredictableWhat is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance? The question above is the wordpress prompt for today. I don’t have a middle name. My mother, who disliked her own middle name, did not give a middle name to either myself or my sister. My brothers each got one, interestingly the last name […]
Read More Other People’s Dreamscat on the keyboard intransitive and purring not my writing for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of intransitive
Read More not movingI made it out to Barr Lake for the first time this year. Barr is a state park, about 20 miles east of where I live. It’s a former buffalo wallow which was turned into an irrigation reservoir more than 100 years ago. And while the water is still used for irrigating fields, the land […]
Read More BirdwalkDescribe the last difficult “goodbye” you said. Today’s jetpack prompt is as above. I’ve described the last two difficult goodbyes previously in this blog, saying goodbye to the previous generation of cats, first Jules, and then a year later, his sister Lucy. I’ve mused over the years on why goodbyes to these creatures with whom […]
Read More goodbyesWhy sure. I haven’t been writing much these days, busy with other stuff. In August, BA and I were traveling in Iceland with a very congenial group. Unfortunately, like many summer travelers, we got Covid. She got sick there, I got sick after we returned home. I think being fully vaccinated helped us in that […]
Read More complicated?I just spent an hour talking with a man who is putting together a program in advance of the one year anniversary of the Marshall Fire, which roared through my area last December 30. During our conversation, we focused on facts and timelines and then veered into emotions, stress, reactions as this anniversary approaches. We […]
Read More Marshall MorassReinvent was yesterday’s Ragtag Daily Prompt. I noticed it yesterday afternoon, recognized its pertinence to my life, and am writing about it today. Lots of reinvention around here. BA’s health challenges continue. She spent an overnight in hospital last week with another TIA (transient ischemic attack–stroke symptoms that resolve within hours of onset) and pericarditis. […]
Read More ReinventingMonday morning, before the predicted Tuesday snowstorm, I went for a short hike. Arriving at the trailhead, I realized that this was my first time walking on Marshall Mesa since the Marshall fire started near there last December 30. Fueled by hurricane force winds and a desiccated landscape, more than a thousand homes and businesses […]
Read More Eleven Months LaterToday’s ragtag daily prompt is Pakapoo Ticket. That’s a new term to me. On this Thanksgiving day in the US, I’m thankful for the internet, where I was able to look it up and confirm from a number of sources that it has its origins in a Chinese lottery game known as pak ah pu […]
Read More What kind of Ticket?I’m a big chicken when it comes to needles. I don’t like shots, although with my science and medical background I do get the vaccines I find pertinent to maintaining my and the publics heath. But voluntarily going in somewhere, giving someone money to have them poke ink into my skin with many little needles. […]
Read More No Ink for me, ThanksThe paragraphs below were drafted just after the “King Soopers shooting” in March of 2021. This morning, I awakened to the news that there was a mass shooting at Club Q, a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs late last night. That’s about 90 miles south of me. My state, my people. March 23, 2021. Yesterday […]
Read More Way Too Close to Home, AgainThe deal is done. Lucy the Van is moving to Montana, and will be home to a young woman who plans to spend some time as a full time van lifer, and then who knows what her next will be. Thanks to Van Life Trader, a website that worked really well for selling in this […]
Read More Goodbye Lucy, See you Later, Van LifeZiggy the cat. It’s not as though I had much of a choice for a Z subject. Just like when we met him at the Humane Society and he jumped from the attendant on to me and started nuzzling. Hi I’m your cat, it’s about time you got here. He has been with us for […]
Read More Z is for ZiggyOver this month, I’m learning more about what I want to say yes to in my life going forward, as well as those items or ways of being that I’m willing to let go. I’m recognizing that pacing matters. It’s not new but it’s a reconfirmed understanding. I don’t like to hurry. Related to that […]
Read More Y is for Yes!Hmmmmm. Aside from brand names such as xfinity, xcel, and xerox, I don’t know a lot of x words aside from xenophobia and many from chemistry class–xylitol, anyone? X does get used as a personal mark if you can’t write your own name, and its often a way to mark one’s choice. And of course, […]
Read More X is for . . . Maps?A sense of wonder. Being wonder-full is wonderful. A few days ago, I was walking home and I became aware of a busy-ness in my peripheral vision. Stopping to look, I noticed a house with a bird feeder on its porch. It was busy, and the main birds were goldfinches, along with some house finches. […]
Read More WonderBe a van lifer. It’s a thing, fixing up a van and taking it on the road. For some it is a full time way of living, allowing more flexibility in where and how one lives, often with less expense. For others, it’s a part-time gig, traveling part of the year and returning to a […]
Read More Van Life?Wow, I’ve made it as far as U in the blogging from A to Z challenge. Well done me, for a first month of retirement adventure. Urgent. I’m working on letting fewer and fewer things hit the category of urgent, or its horrible relative, emergent. I’ve never enjoyed feeling rushed, and after more than half […]
Read More Urgent, or Not soWhat to trust? Always a question. As time goes on, I’m learning more and more to listen to myself and trust my own internal knowing. This morning, I looked at the weather app on my phone and found this: What to do with this? In this case, an obvious and easy solution-I looked out the […]
Read More TrustScary is the word for this fire season. I live in the western US, and forest fires have been a part of the ecosystem for as long as I’ve been around. However, things are changing. It used to be that May to October was fire season. Well, it’s different these days. The Marshall fire was […]
Read More S is for ScaryIt’s R day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Reassessing seems a good thing to explore as I am finding it an important component on my new journey of retirement. What matters to me now? What do I want to keep? What is it time to let go of or do differently? Sounds […]
Read More ReassessingI quit working. Finally, after many years, I don’t have a next on the work for pay list. Done. Three weeks ago was my last day seeing clients. I’m not missing work, or the schedule. I’m surprised by how quickly I can lose track of days. I’d like it not to matter at all what […]
Read More I QuitThe Marshall Fire burned through my area nearly 4 months ago. Out walking today, there was noticeable progress on some fronts. Some lots now are cleared of all debris, burned trees are removed. It’s a big project, clearing all of this from more than a thousand locations, and recently the county published a listing of […]
Read More P is For ProgressThis is a big weekend for spring holiday observances. The big 3 monotheistic religions have something going on, in order of chronological appearance: Passover, Easter and Ramadan. I grew up nominally Christian, following that calendar of celebrations. However, it was more about being helpful and of service to those in needs as opposed to following […]
Read More Old observancesIts M day in the Blogging from A to Z April challenge. Halfway through the month and the alphabet. My theme this year is split between two; this is the first month of my retirement and it is the fourth month of recovery from the Marshall Fire in my area. Today’s post covers both themes. […]
Read More Magpies, meadowlarks, Mergansers and MoreThat -5 is Fahrenheit. For the rest of the world, that’s minus 21. Friggen cold, no matter the scale, unless you reside in a polar region. Catch Y’all later, I’m going out to shovel
Read More Brrrrr !I don’t have a lot of junk, comparatively speaking. And like most folks, I have some. Most of it resides in the basement. And its not really junk, as the items in question have use and generally are in good working order. They just may no longer be of use or value to me. I’ve […]
Read More J is for JunkI am a morning person, meaning that I tend to wake up and get up fairly early. I am not, however, a social morning person. I love/want/need quiet time to be with my thoughts, drink my coffee and perhaps write or read a bit before engaging in a lot of conversation. Coffee. That one cup […]
Read More C is For CoffeeFrozen grey and white Slowly transforms becomes green Wonderment of spring For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Wonderment
Read More spring haiku
Curious Steph 