Featured

V is for Vigilant

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 […]

Featured

U is for Undone

As 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 […]

Featured

T is for Tiresome

I’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 […]

Featured

S is For Snow

April 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 […]

Featured

Peas, Please

Like 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 […]

Featured

O is for Oh-oh

My 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 […]

Featured

N is for Nothing

Nothing 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 […]

Featured

M is For Mergansers, Mallards and Meadowlarks

BA 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 […]

Featured

L is for Light

Light. 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 […]

Featured

Killed or Not dead Yet?

With 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 […]

J is for Junk

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 […]

Featured

I is for Indigo

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 […]

Featured

H is for hurry

As 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 […]

Featured

G is For Garage

Not 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 […]

Featured

F is for Fun

I’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 […]

Featured

E is for Electric

I’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 […]

Featured

D is for Don’t

At 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 […]

C is For Coffee

I 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 […]

Featured

B is for Bach

Johann 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 […]

Featured

Bad Influence?

“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 […]

Featured

A is for . . . .

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 […]