Friday -- Freya's (or Freyja) day

While the English followed the Germanic/Nordic gods, the Latin languages stayed with names that followed the Roman god Venus.
Both Freyja and Venus are female gods of fertility and love.
I don't know about the fertility part, but surely the gods know that humanity could use more love.

It's a little past 3 in the morning as I am writing from a table in the hallway at the shelter. One of our guests just passed by me and asked about the stars in the eastern sky, so I paused my writing long enough to put on my jacket and go outside to check it out.
Jupiter, Mars and Regulus were the night sky objects he was looking at.  I like talking to people about the night sky and the winter sky is pretty cool. There are lots of bright stars, big constellations, and then you watch the planetary dance throughout the season.
The Leonids meteor shower will be in a few days.

Our little solar system is pretty amazing.

John

Thursday -- Thor's day

Thurday is named after the Norse protector and god of thunder -- Thor.
The Roman god of sky and thunder is Jupiter and is reflected in the Spanish -- jueves, and the French -- Jeudi.

On this Thursday, the weather in the Ozarks of SWMO is going to take a turn towards winter as the polar vortex breaks down and moves southward into the upper US for a couple of days. The clear skies and cold temps mean near freezing tonight and a little bit colder tomorrow and tomorrow night.
These will likely be the first of many nights that our crises cold weather shelters are open and volunteers are needed -- both for these early nights and throughout the season (which runs through March of '27).

This will be my seventh season of working or volunteering during the winter months. I have learned a lot about myself and about the need that exists in the Springfield community. My early retirement was a real plus in being able to work many overnight shifts over the past cold weather seasons.
Admittedly, recovery from the overnights is getting more difficult. I initially thought I'd just be doing a few nights of volunteering this year, but I will be working for the early part of the season. Maybe someone that really needs a part time income will takeover for me at some point. 
That would be great for both of us.

If you would like to volunteer, apply to work, or make a donation -- here is the link.

Clear skies
No thunder
Happy Thor's day!

John

Wednesday -- Woden's Day

Woden is the Anglo spelling of the main Norse god, Odin, and the deity for which this day is named.

I find it interesting that we have used Norse gods to replace or mimic the original Babylonian and early Roman days of the week. The seven day week named days after the sun, the moon, and the five visible planets -- Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Each planet was also associated with a Roman god.

Mars is the god of war as I wrote about yesterday.
Wednesday in Spanish is miercoles which comes from the Roman god Mercury. I don't think there is any kind of connection between Mercury and Odin and I am not sure how the English calendar ended up with Odin as Wednesday. I do know that the Viking Age is considered to have been during the 8th through 11th centuries and influenced changes in language and culture throughout Europe -- including the names for our weekdays.

Skol,

John

Tuesday -- Tiw's day

Tuesday -- whether Germanic, Nordic, or Latin -- is about a god of war.
Tiw (or sometimes Tyr) is from the Germanic (or Nordic) god of war.
Mardi and martes are from French and Spanish and the Roman god of war -- Mars.

And speaking of war --
Last night we went to see the movie Jimmy. It's about Jimmy Stewart and how World War II affected his life and career, and how it shaped the man that he was.
It's a good film.

I am sure that it was shaped by and to fit Hollywood, but it was moving and represented some of the horrors of war well. On the drive home, I mentioned that the two things that really hit me about the film were 1) how difficult it must be to send your child off to war and 2) how hard it must be to return and try to live a normal life after having survived the experience of war.
It makes me angry to see the casual approach to war that politicians and this administration seem to have about the current wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine. 

A 2010 study by the Veteran's Administration estimated that 22 veterans took their own lives -- everyday in the US. Awareness of this tragedy and help for veterans has adjusted the number downward to the current estimate of 17 to 20.
Seventeen to twenty veteran suicides EVERY DAY and we have a fucking embicile running the Department of Defense acting like a damn cheerleader promoting war like it's a glorious thing, and a Republican led Congress and Administration that has stripped away the much needed benefits for our vets.
Damn, that pisses me off.

Our no more wars president lied.
He's not going to get us out of his illegal money maker in Iran and he's going to continue to support Putin in Ukraine. And he's going to continue to spend our taxpayer dollars and send our kids into war zones.
He is a fucking traitor.

I remember a scene from a M*A*S*H episode. They are in the OR and someone comments that war is hell. Hawkeye says, "War is war and hell is hell and of the two of them, war is worse." Fr Mulcahy asks why, and Hawkeye explains that people in hell supposedly deserve to be in hell, but war hurts (and kills) people that are innocent of any wrong doing.

Maybe we need to find another name for Tuesday or martes. Maybe we need to find something that doesn't honor a god of war. We have become so desensitized to war that most of us say Tuesday casually, never realizing that it pays homage to a god of war.

John

It's Monday -- or moon day

Yep, Monday corresponds to Moon day. 
Even in Spanish -- lunes (days of the week are not capitalized in Spanish) is moon day.
If you are interested, the moon currently sits at the New Moon phase, placing it between the sun and earth so we face the dark side and see no moon. It reached New Moon at around 1 AM in Missouri.
Other than that, it is just another Monday.

If you tend to watch the sky -- the northern Taurids meteor shower peaks in a couple of nights. In the early morning hours of the 12th (Wed night/Thurs morning) look towards the constellation Taurus as the radiant point for this smaller, but pretty decent shower. The Taurids tend to travel into the upper atmosphere more slowly than most showers (I don't know why) so the meteors tend to be brighter and easier to spot.
Because today is the New Moon, the slight crescent moon will set early, making it an ideal night for meteor watching.
Unfortunately, skies over the Ozarks are currently forecast to be overcast.
Sacrebleu!

Today, however, looks to be sunny and warm for November. I am going to try to spend some time outside where I can enjoy the sun's fading warmth. 
Mid-November
Upper 60s (20c)
Life is good

John

Sleep observations

There is nothing quite like a good night's sleep!
I managed 6+ hours of sleep last night with one wake-up about halfway through it.
I feel great this morning.

My watch tracks sleep and breaks it down to REM sleep, light sleep, and deep sleep. It also shows periods of restlessness. One weird thing I noticed when we were in Colorado doing the dog-sitting gig was that I never went into deep sleep after Chris came to bed.
I typically go to bed around midnight; Chris comes to bed around 3 or 4 in the morning. That hits around a natural wake-up time (between cycles). After that -- there were no more deep sleep periods.

It makes me wonder if that was a way of being more alert to listen for the dogs when nobody was awake or just a part of sleeping in a strange place. I will say that I appear to have more deep sleep earlier in the night than I do closer to morning, but that's a normal part of sleeping -- more deep sleep early; more REM sleep later.
It just seemed odd that I had no deep sleep later when we were there. 

It's probably weird that the function of my watch that I am most interested in tracking is sleep. 
While sleep is a vital part of the overall health picture, most people would look at the activity part of a smart watch or fitness watch more than the sleep data. 
I should probably do that, too. 

I'm awake and there are things to do! I guess now would be a good time to think about being active. The sun is shining on this fall Sunday so I am going to enjoy it!

John

Cool temps

It's one of those days when it is too cool to sit outside for coffee, but not cold enough to have a fire in the fireplace. The indoor temperature is at 65f (18c) so the furnace will be kicking on soon. 
Damn, I hate that. 
It is currently a few degrees above freezing and should make it to 50f (10c) today. It looks like winter is on the way. 
Sacrebleu!

I'll rescue the last of the flowers from the front porch today and wheel in the cold fragile potted elephant ear plant before it freezes. It won't quite get as low as freezing tonight, but those days aren't too far off. It looks like we will have a few days of warmer weather and not so cool nights. Maybe I should consider a night sleeping on the deck before it gets uncomfortably cold for that. 

     * * * * *

While considering what to write about this morning I am again reminded of how simply we live. An outside observer would likely conclude that I have an incredibly boring life -- and perhaps that is true even if I am not at all bored by it. 

Maybe life doesn't need to be busy and exciting.
Maybe it doesn't need to be productive or in constant motion.
Maybe it doesn't have to be constantly stimulated by new experiences.
Maybe just enjoying the moments and occasionally sharing what you've learned along the way is enough.

And maybe none of it means anything at all in the grand scope of things.

A few weeks ago, after the kids had been gone for just a couple of days, the youngest dog (a three year old wolf hybrid) sat alone in the front room and let out a sad howl as if she was missing part of her pack. She did it again the next day and then apparently decided that we were her new pack.
Yesterday she sat on the ramp leading out to the back fenced area and sad howled again, apparently missing us after a couple of days.

Maybe being missed by a young dog is enough.

John

What's changed?

When Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in 2020 he declared, "We're back!" -- meaning that the old USA was back on the global scene.
The European Union responded, "But for how long?"
That turned out to be pretty prophetic as it only lasted for four years before the Trump administration returned with a more aggressive and more insane agenda.

Call me a skeptic, but I still have little faith in people that are so easily manipulated and so full of hate. I am pleased that the midterms turned out as well as they appear to have, but I am holding off on the celebration until we see some actual changes. When people are held accountable for their hateful behavior or for their acceptance of politicians that bring hateful policies I will feel better about celebrating.
Until then -- this is just another Friday and nothing has changed.

I would love to believe that we have had enough and truly want to work toward a better world for all of us, but I mostly think that people suck and only want what is best for themselves and to hell with everyone else.
For what it's worth -- I am looking forward to the structure of the new Congress and hopeful for the days ahead of us. However, I think that being defeated in an election is a pretty light consequence for the harmful and hateful bullshit that these legislators have allowed while enriching themselves through unabashed corruption.
What a country!

I wish I had the excitement that many have, but I remain skeptical.
It's a good thing I have a good life as it is -- because I don't expect much to change.

John

Easy Day for Gratitude

It was one month ago today that we left home for our dog sitting (aka: wolf-watching) duties in the mountains of Colorado. We arrived back home last night, unpacked, showered and got to sleep in our own bed.
Gratitude comes easily today.

Even waking up to no coffee in the house wasn't a big deal. 
I am at the Ozark Mudhouse with a cup of single origin Guatemalan coffee and a rather tall blueberry muffin, so like I said -- gratitude comes easily.
I'll take home a bag of single origin Ethiopian beans so I can be properly caffeinated for the coming days. It's been quite some time since I have used my moka pot stove top espresso maker, but after having daily Americanos from the kids' fancy coffee maker I may break it out and try a little something different at home. 
Then again, the daily pour-over is good and easy, so -- maybe not.

Good coffee, no matter how it is brewed, is worthy of gratitude.
So is being home.
When it comes right down to it -- gratitude is easy every day.
A good night's sleep, good morning coffee -- bring on the day!

What are your simple gratitude triggers?

John

Cautiously Optimistic

Overall I am pleased with the midterm elections.
However, change is slow and I am cautiously optimistic.

Missouri did as well as expected, passing or denying ballot initiatives as I hoped (and voted) for. Locally, Missourians added  Democratic seats to both state chambers of the legislature.
It's a start.

Kansas (where I am this morning) flipped a Senate seat and the governor's race is too close to call at this point. 

It is important to remember that the results won't take effect until January and there is much damage that the current lame-duck houses can do between now and then. I am sure the administration will push many poor decisions in the coming weeks.

I am not going to give too much energy to this today as I will be on the road and looking forward to sleeping at home tonight. It looks like it may be a little windy today, but otherwise it will be a fine day to be on the road.
Tomorrow will be sunny and warm and a great day to be on the mower. 
I love what we have at home in the way of space. It takes time and work and I sometimes wonder how long I'll be able to keep up with it, but for now -- I really do love it.

I am thankful for what I have and hopeful for what lies ahead.
Life is good.

John

Election Day and other stuff

It's finally here!
If you haven't already voted -- Go vote!
Chris and I voted a month ago since we are out of our voting area today. We will be spending our afternoon on the road and headed toward home. We will break up the 12 hour drive time trip into two shorter days and be home sometime tomorrow.
I really don't know how much we will be following election results tonight. I do know that we are looking forward to not seeing our social media accounts full of campaign ads.

     * * * * *

I am glad that we were able to do the dog-sitting thing so the kids could get away and visit a number of national parks, but I am also looking forward to returning home. 

Hannah and Jason have done so much work on the project home they bought last year. It is inspiring to see their progress and to listen to their continued plans for the place. While I am not the handyman or do-it-yourselfer that Jason is, there are plenty of projects and things to do at our home, and I am inspired to get busy doing something when we return. 
We'll see how long that lasts when the deck is inviting me to sit and enjoy the peaceful view.

In keeping with National Gratitude Month, I have to say that I am truly grateful for this life that I have. 
While Chris and I are not great adventurers, we have a simple and quiet life that we enjoy. We are aware of the privilege that we have and grateful for it.
We enjoy simple things like sitting on the deck during summer evenings or by the fireplace on winter nights. We are proud of our kids and happy that they are living out their dreams -- one in a tropical beach metropolis and one high up in a rural mountain community.
In the coming weeks there will be days when one of them is at the beach or in their pool while the other is snow skiing in the mountains -- each one loving where they live and doing what they love to do.

Their dad is happy for them.
Life is good.

John

November

In the past, November has been National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). While it is no longer a nationally supported thing, many bloggers still work on posting daily through the month of November. 
It was originally created to go along with National Novel Writing Month. I guess it was to encourage non-novel writers to write daily even if they were not writing a book. I have mostly kept up with the annual posting challenge, and will make the attempt to do the same this year.

November is also Movember -- Men's health awareness month. 
Many men observe the month by growing a mustache to remind each other to check on the issues such as prostate and testicular cancer, as well as mental health issues including depression and suicide. 
No shave November is another way to participate. So is making a financial gift to an organization that is dedicated to working on these health conditions.

My annual physical was in September and I seem to be in pretty good health for a fat guy.
I do need to work on getting the weight down and on getting more active. Aging has a way of emphasizing the poor areas of health that doctors and others will never have. 

November is also National Diabetes Awareness Month, National Native American Heritage Month, National Veterans and Military Families Month, and my personal favorite -- National Gratitude Month.

That is a lot to take care of this month! 
Happy November!

John

I have been relieved

My dog sitting (aka: wolf watching) duties have come to an end.
The kids are home.
The dogs are happy.

But...
They are downstairs expecting me to get them their breakfast while the kids are still in bed. Maybe having an early riser in the house is a good thing -- for the dogs. I suppose the late breakfast and late dinners that they were used to having will again be their normal routine.

We'll be here for a couple of more days to visit with the kids, but they will be back to work and back to their lives and we will get back to ours as well (lives, not work). As always, getting back home with our stuff and our routine will be a good thing.

Also -- getting down to a breathable altitude will be nice. 
I'm not sure how long it takes to adapt to living at nearly 9,000 ft (2750 m), but it is definitely longer than 4 weeks!

Since the weather has been warm at home, I am sure I will need to mow everything. Grass grows well in the southwestern Missouri fall. One more time and the mower can be put away until spring.
There is more fall garden work to do that I would have been doing in October. I guess I'll need the garden tractor (mower) for a little longer.
I need to decide what I'm going to do about winterizing the deck this year. I hate giving up my outdoor space -- even for just a few months.
The fireplace is always an inviting option on cold mornings, as is leaving for someplace warm for several weeks. We have no current travel plans.

In any case, winter in the mountains is no place for this warm weather boy. The relatively mild Midwestern winters of SWMO are much more doable than the cold and snow of the Colorado Rockies.
Home by the end of the week will be good.

John

October 31 and random stuff

It is early on this final morning of October and the latest sunrise for several months.
While there are certainly good arguments for Daylight Savings Time (DST) it still sounds mostly stupid to me -- especially in a world that is mostly digitized and artificial lighting is available nearly everywhere.

Of course, the latest sunrise for some time also means that today's sunset will be the latest for the coming weeks and months, 

On most days, I am up somewhere near sunrise so I generally get to utilize all of the available daylight hours on any given day. For the coming winter days -- if you are one that tends to sleep late, you deprive yourself of some of the precious few hours of natural sunlight. It's mostly just a matter of choices and consequences.

Speaking of choices and consequences -- Tuesday is election day here in the ol' US of A. 
We are facing the consequences of our choices in the last election and have an opportunity to make some different choices this time around.
Unfortunately, the consequences will last much longer than most of us anticipated. Stabilizing the economy will take some time. Rebuilding international relationships and global trust may take a generation or more. 
For better or worse -- we may be largely on our own for a few decades. 

I am truly sad about how quickly and how poorly our global status has fallen. 
I am also truly sad at the lack of integrity and real moral fiber that so many politicians, community leaders, and even friends and family have displayed over the past few years.
Some are beginning to realize that they are getting more than they bargained for, but understanding just how far they are willing to go for personal benefit and how little they truly care about others in our society is a grave character flaw that is inexcusable.

I don't know how we (I) will move forward from here. Showing grace for past mistakes is one thing.  Making allowances for supporting a pedophile and traitor is another matter. 

I know-- con men are good at conning people and we are all easily manipulated from time to time, but this traitorous administration is granted its power from an equally corrupt segment of our population and I don't know if that can be reconciled. If national trust will take a generation, where does that leave us when it comes to personal trust?

One step at a time, eh? 
First -- the midterm elections.
Then -- we begin the repair work.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

Sometimes wisdom is just common sense.
Unfortunately, good sense no longer seems to be very common.

John

Look at that A$$!

Did you ever think that a campaign speech by a President of the United States of America would be about ogling the asses of both men and women?

Seriously--WTF is going on?

If ever there was a classless person in the White House -- this is it!
And he is still supported by classless, racist, pedophiles all across the country!
I don't know how anyone can listen to the crap that is coming from the GOP and think that it in any way reflects the values of The United States of America. 

Or maybe I'm the one that has it all wrong.

Maybe these are the values of the US of A.
Europeans came here as colonizers -- stealing the land, killing the natives, enslaving them and importing more slaves, raping and murdering anyone that was vulnerable, and stripping the land of its natural resources and beauty.
I guess this is who we really are.

We have gone from escaping religious persecution to persecuting those that believe differently.
We have gone from migrating to a new land to escape oppressive governments to oppressing migrants fleeing oppressive governments.
We have gone from owning slaves to controlling the poorest by withholding fair pay, affordable housing, and necessary healthcare.
I am beginning to believe that maybe this is who we are and I am the one that is wrong.
US voters have just over a week to demonstrate who we are. I am honestly afraid to find out.

John

Fun Fact Friday

Did you know ... ?

John
 

Wednesday Wisdom

I know that we all don't get to enjoy all of these simple pleasures.
Some of us might struggle with physical tasks like climbing stairs or even simple mobility.
Some may not have many close friends or people they can count on.

But still, there is a truth that most of us enjoy a simple life that wasn't available to us just a generation ago.
Medical advances prolong life and improve the quality of life.
We are able to produce, harvest, preserve, and distribute enough food to feed everyone.
For the most part, we have food. We have shelter. We have clean water. 
And we have people.

Sometimes we overlook the simple things that make life good.

John

Reading and Writing

I haven't felt much like reading or writing lately. I'm really not sure why.
Some of it may have to do with being away from home and what is familiar, but honestly, I was in this funk before we left. 

I have a couple of non-fiction books that I am slowly working my way through. They are not the kind of books that you need to hurry through and can really be read chapter by chapter, or a few pages at a time. I decided against the epic The Odyssey after a short time. It was interesting and well translated, but I wasn't going to stick to it, so...
After a really good start for the year, I am going to have to get busy if I plan to make my 50 book goal. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal.

I recently added some more non-fiction to my Kindle -- The Books of Enoch (there are three).
They have been on my radar for some time and I think they will be interesting. I am certain that they will give some perspective on some of the religious and theological questions that I have considered. 
There are other non-canonized books that I may take on in the coming year. 

My perspective about the books of The Bible has changed. I wonder if some of the books left out are similar to the banned books that school boards and communities have -- a group of people "in authority" just decided we don't like what they have to say.
Don't come after me for that. I get it. There were certain criteria that were created for inclusion -- even some of that was contentious. (The Catholics include 11 books that are not in the Protestant Bible).
Regardless, I think I may peruse some of those rejected books.

My current plan is to work on finishing the two books that I've started and have been slowly reading. 
I'll pick up a few easy read fiction action or fantasy books to make my goal of 50 for the year, and then begin to tackle some more serious educational reading.

What are you reading?

John

Mountain weather

It's a cool and damp day in the mountains just west of Denver. 
It is foggy this morning with occasional light rain expected throughout the early part of the afternoon. The rain is supposed to turn to light snow for a short time later this afternoon. The temperature will still be above freezing (until tonight) so I don't think there will be any accumulation.

The high temperature here today might not make it to 40f (4c).
Meanwhile, back at home they set a record high for yesterday's date at 93f (34c) and the latest date to have a 90+ degree day.
It looks like we will have a couple of cold days and freezing nights before returning to more seasonable temps for the weekend and into next week.
All-in-all, life is still pretty good.

These are my charges for our time here in the mountains. I think it's plain to see why I prefer to use wolf-watching to dog-sitting. Not only does it sound way cooler, but it also fits the animals quite well. The two wolfers are well suited to mountain winters; the pittie -- not so much. It can be challenging to get him to go outside to take care of business when it's cold and wet out. 
They're good dogs, and I think they are beginning to realize they are stuck with me for the time being.

Rain or shine, I hope you have a wonderful day.

John