Oh Sugar!

It starts slowly, a cookie here, some dark chocolate there. A piece of homemade plum tart on my birthday. Traveling, I find our hosts have provided a cookie jar laden with Oreos. Somewhere along the way, the dreaded switch gets thrown in my brain. I’m craving sweets, thinking about the next snack or treat. It’s […]

Jolly

I’m not much of a holiday person, in the sense that large gatherings, lots of stuff, crowds of people buying to fulfill artificially generated needs is not my way. Regulated worship, whether of deity or commerce doesn’t suit me. “Christmas” music piped everywhere feels assaultive. Not long ago, I posted about Earworms. Once I read today’s daily […]

I’ll pass on the halo, thanks

via Daily Prompt: Saintly Well, ya wanna get a reaction out of me, put saintly as the daily prompt. My first response was not fit for the public airwaves. In my experience, any intense reaction is fertile ground for self reflection and so, turning my curiosity on myself, I found some stuff, mostly not new, […]

Relocate

via Daily Prompt: Relocate Change location or Return to a previous site. Both are true. A fancy way to say move or transfer. Relocate your shoulder after its dislocated? Good idea, the sooner the better. Try not to go too far afield Relocate. Is it still there, where I left it? Yes Now is it […]

The Zoo Book

via Daily Prompt: Zoo September, 1973. I arrive at Carleton College as a freshman. One of the items we are given during our orientation is the “zoo book”, a small book containing the names and photos of the members of the class of 1977. In most cases, the photos appear to be our high school graduation […]

Snippets from a Morning Person

via Daily Prompt: Snippet I’m a morning person by nature. I recall getting up early for summer band practice, being up and making my breakfast while the rest of the household slept, and then walking to school. All before 7am, which is a bit unusual for a 12 year old. A few years later, my […]

Maybe

via Daily Prompt: One-Way With this for the daily prompt, I feel compelled to once again post my favorite sign: As a traffic direction, I find this wanting. As a reminder that our options are often less limited than we might believe, I find it useful. A college classmate of mine was the oldest child […]

Good-night, Sweet Prince.

“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Today we said good-bye to Jules the cat. He arrived in our lives more than 19 years ago, along with his sister Lucy. He’s been a wonderful fellow, even tempered, easy going. Such a sweet […]

Thanks

It is the season for thanks, connection and all manner of challenges for some. That may be what I am most thankful for: that my challenges feel manageable to me. I have the great good fortune that the day to day struggles of survival are not a big issue in my life. I can’t take […]

Mercy

having compassion despite the option to hurt choosing love often via Daily Prompt: Mercy <a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/mercy/”>Mercy</a>

Nest

We have solar panels on our roof. They’ve been up there over 10 years now, and in the summer, we make a lot more power than we use, and while during winter we run a deficit, our net usage is around 1000 kW hours per year, about an 80 percent reduction. The panels have worked […]

Sludge

what remains after mining, brewing, and flooding stinky oozing mud via Daily Prompt: Sludge Sludge

Particular

Yes, that’s me in many respects. For example, I am very particular about where I keep my keys. This habit developed nearly 40 years ago. I’d given my roommate a ride to the airport; he was off to visit his girlfriend for the weekend. I was now on the north side of Chicago and decided […]

Honk, take two.

via Daily Prompt: Honk Okay, I admit it. I’m easily entertained by the minor oddities and surprises of life. I encountered another little surprise this morning while out for my run. As I mentioned a bit ago, in Season of Change, the recreation center near me is undergoing a major renovation and expansion. Any time I […]

Weed Eaters

Yesterday morning was beautiful; sunny and mild, with a light breeze. This is the kind of day when I love to be outside. So I took myself up to Davidson Mesa for my run. The day was prettier than I felt, which was stiff and a little awkward, as I caught my foot twice on […]

Cat Tales–Waylon

Sunday is laundry and change the sheets day at our house. As I removed a load of sheets from the dryer this morning, there was an ancient purple sheet in the mix. BA is a weaver, and is currently working on rag rugs; the purple sheet was being prepared for its next incarnation. Looking at […]

Living with Elder Cats, part 2

One of my first posts when I began blogging was about my cats, Jules and Lucy, in Living with Elder Cats. Lucy has made two subsequent appearances in The Cat Crunchie Caper and Elevate. Today its Jules’ turn. As I mentioned when I introduced him, Jules has arthritis in his hips, which makes sitting a very laborious process as […]

Panning Panacea

via Daily Prompt: Panacea Ah, the cure-all. That one thing that will fix everything. In my professional life, this gets called a “salvation fantasy”. If this event occurs (I lose weight, get the job, Dad is happy, the cancer is cured, I meet and fall in love with the person of my dreams, etc., etc.), […]

Favorite Eggs

via Daily Prompt: Egg <a href=”http://Egg“>Egg Eggs are one of my favorite foods, likely the animal product most difficult for me to give up, were I to go vegan. This morning, we had one of our favorite breakfasts, a poached egg perched atop a patty of Indian-spiced sweet potatoes, a thin slice of grilled ham, […]

The Idea vs Reality

The idea of doing something as opposed to the reality of what is really involved. This comes up a lot in life, and I notice it quite a bit in sports. As I’ve been blogging about my experiences as a beginning triathlete, I’ve received support from a number of other athletes, some are bloggers; some […]

T.H.I.N.K.

This acronym appeared on my town’s community Facebook page this morning. There’s been a little bit of bad-mouthing and haranguing going on recently, and a reminder of the groups intentions and standards was posted. As I read the reminder, I was thinking about the THINK acronym, as I sensed it was pertinent. Trying to recall […]

Mystery

via Daily Prompt: Mystery So many mysteries. My inner toddler inquires Why? The jaded, busy adult often ignores, claiming she “knows the difference*” Its a mystery, not my responsibility. But is it? A mystery? Inquiry first, then acceptance. Acceptance of mystery invites enjoyment Hmmmm. *from The Serenity Prayer, written by theologian Reinhold Neibuhr in […]

prefer. no preference

via Daily Prompt: Prefer I prefer no preference be given to those who have enough and want more Who am I to say or decide what is enough? Scarcity is relative and insatiable. If you don’t think you have enough, you won’t As my wealthy, forever striving client replied when I asked How much is […]

Color

I love color. All from the same tree, same day.

Earworms

You have most likely had an earworm, even if you are unfamiliar with the name. A musical tune, or small piece of one, gets stuck in your brain on endless repeat. You redirect your attention elsewhere, and then, seconds to days later, you realize ITS STILL PLAYING! I’ve had a lot of earworms over the […]

Season of Change

That’s all of them, isn’t it? It is said that change is the only constant, and I do find it especially true these days. Autumn is my favorite season, with the brilliant colors of changing leaves and bright blue skies. Here in Colorado, the weather also fluctuates wildly this time of year. It’s not uncommon […]

Blustrious Gustards

I’m prone to making up new words. Given that all words are made up in order to describe something, why not add to the collection? I rarely do this intentionally, the new words often just come out when I am attempting a description. Blustrious gustards is about wind, derived from blustery and gusts. BA and […]

The End is Near! Winter Storm Warning

As I write this, its 55 degrees and sunny; predicted to hit 70, a gorgeous autumn day. The weather folk say that by midnight snow will be falling and we will likely have several inches by the end of tomorrow. Along with the snow, we are also expecting the first hard freeze of the season. […]

If you’re active, you’re an athlete

via Daily Prompt: Athletic Or so it says on the publicity for the sports medicine clinic I visit from time to time. Personally, I like the inclusiveness of this statement. As someone who is now in the “older” category, who is not naturally physically gifted, and who does enjoy being physically active and has done […]

Its a Sign! Pacific NW Edition

I’ve spent the last several days in NW Oregon and SW Washington. I love this part of the world, and its very different from my usual residence in Colorado. Found a few signs and bumper stickers to share. Some strange, some funny, and others simply very different from life in Colorado. With this first sign, […]