What are you reading?

It is highly unusual for me to have four books going at a time, but that is my current situation. Three books is rare, but not too weird. Two books (usually a fiction and non-fiction) is pretty normal. One book happens about as often as three books.

Of my current four, only one is fiction -- The Runes of Victory by John Broughton, an 8th century English tale of a small village and Viking invaders. I started it because I just needed a fiction book to read and it was in my Kindle library, no doubt a free download from a regular listing of free or cheap books somewhere. I'll probably finish it before I finish the others.

The main one open is Mel Robbins' bestseller, Let Them. I had some Amazon credits and decided to see what all the hype was. I've got to say, I think it's mostly hype.
The material is decent and I pretty much already use the philosophies I've read so far. I'm not a podcast listener and I can't imagine hyping this simple stress relief to the point of some viral sensation. One of the difficult things for me in working through the book is that I believe she is writing primarily to women. I only know her story from what I've read in the book and I may have that wrong, but I think that she probably writes like she talks on her podcast and that means she fills a lot of time with unnecessary words. 
I am almost to the halfway point and I will finish it, but it may take another week as I can only read the rambling monologue for so long before needing a break. If you have an over-stressed life and need a self-proclaimed expert to tell you to stop doing stupid stuff and caring about what meaningless people think about you -- well, this book is for you. 
That may be a little premature as I am not even halfway through it yet, but that would be my assessment to this point.

The third book is more of a lesson book that is a part of my quest to learn to speak and understand Spanish. Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish is a way to help me increase my Spanish vocabulary and pick up whatever help I can as I try to pick up the language while living as a hermit in SWMO.

The fourth and final book is a book of meditations of the former Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. 
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a collection of his personal writings that were likely meant just for is own reflection. They were discovered and made public in the mid 1500s, The writings share his stoic philosophy and wisdom and will be something I use in my own meditative time rather than something that I simply read to get through.

Two of these books I read on Kindle and two are actual paper and ink books.

It's 2026.
What are you reading?

John

FOMO isn't a thing for me.

FOMO -- the fear of missing out

It was just a few minutes before midnight when I found out that yesterday (Jan 2) was World Introvert Day. 
I almost missed it!

On the other hand, I did observe it the way any solidly introverted person would -- I stayed home, potted a few plants, read a little bit, watched a movie on my Chromebook, and avoided contact with other people. It turned out to be a wonderfully fitting observance of the day.
I did have to make a quick run to get some food for the cat, but that was my only exposure to the outside world for the day. Although today is not World Introvert Day, I will carry on in much the same way as I do every day.

It looks like the nighttime temps may drop below the freezing point this weekend, so I may have to put in a night or two at the shelter. Daytime temps will be in the 60s (upper teens for you Celsius folk) for next week and I hope to get some of the outdoor work done that I mentioned in yesterday's post. It's also been a little while since I've been able to sit and enjoy a cigar so that will likely happen next week, too.

I have a pretty low expectations kind of life. It suits me quite well. 
I don't do drama.
I am happy to let people do their own thing and work out their own issues.
I am beginning to understand the Buddhist and Toltec beliefs that attachments (to people and things) cause suffering (Buddhist) and that we are addicted to suffering (Toltec).
Perhaps we could all use a little suffering intervention.

Ah well, life goes on.

If you are one of those that wants to learn something every day -- 
From my Word Nerd calendar:
Overmorrow is the day after tomorrow.
And for a bonus:
Ere-yesterday is the day before yesterday.

John

Is it spring yet?

Okay, so I know that spring is still more than two months away, but I think I am going to think spring in my head and begin planning my garden. 

I did ask for some specific seeds for Christmas and someone must have lied to Santa (or Hannah and Jason) about me being a good boy last year because I got them -- sunflowers, pumpkins, and popcorn! Those are all crops that need to be planted in the ground rather than started inside since their roots are sensitive to movement and they don't typically survive transplanting. 
The weather is supposed to be nice next week, so I may begin tilling an area for them. I am actually pretty excited about all three varieties.

If you are planning ahead and want some hostas, I will have plenty to share this year. Some gardeners recommend splitting them in winter, but I have found them to do well pretty much anytime and will wait until spring to thin mine. Just let me know if you have a shady spot that you want to fill.

I do want to get an early start to some cole crops this year -- cabbages, kale, broccoli, and maybe some collard greens. I also want to plant some spinach and lettuce, but those starts can wait a little longer. 
Planning a garden is almost as much fun as working it, so I will do what I can for the moment.

What are your spring plans?
Is it too soon to ask?

John

Stuff and Nonsense

Here are a few things that happened in the past year that you may not have known about:

The moon moved 3.8 cm away from the earth
The sun lost 174 trillion tons of its mass and the earth's orbit increased by 1.5 cm
150 billion stars formed in the visible universe
Andromeda Galaxy moved 3.5 billion km closer to us
and the Universe expanded by more than 60 trillion km

Closer to home and not nearly as significant:

I managed to read 40 books in 2025
I finished the year 15 pounds lighter than I started it
I learned a little bit more about smoking meats and enjoyed experimenting with the smoker

I expect that universal stuff will remain constant in 2026, while John stuff will remain chaotic.
All-in-all, I have a pretty good life.
I should probably work on being more social, but honestly doubt that I will. Maybe I'll just throw out an open invitation for anyone to join me on the deck for a drink and a cigar and see what happens.
Then again, maybe I won't.
Why take a chance on ruining a good thing?

For better or for worse, 2026 is underway.
My plan is to enjoy each day and to focus on keeping my little world a good place to be. 
Let's do this!

John

Happy Boxing Day!

While not celebrated in the US, I am happy to offer wonderful wishes to those commonwealth countries where it is celebrated in any fashion.

In fact, I think I am going to be better about celebrating in the coming year. 
Why not celebrate often?
I don't want to celebrate meaningless things, but rather I want to find special meaning in simple, everyday, ordinary things. 

If we can move from wealthier people giving post Christmas gifts to servants and working people to Black Friday like sales -- Why not?
Isn't that keeping with the idea of the rich (corporations) giving leftovers to the poorer parts of society?
Or maybe it's just another humbug thing.

Did you know...
Humbug is a word that identifies a scam or a method of separating people from their money?
Scrooge's "Bah, humbug!" was his way of saying that Christmas -- as it was being celebrated -- was just a way for people to get something (a day off work) from him. 
Hmmm...
he wasn't wrong, was he?

No matter.
Find a reason to celebrate today.
And if you can't find a reason to celebrate, maybe you can give someone else a reason to celebrate through an act of kindness.

John

Thinking Ahead

It's still 10 days until 2026 but I am thinking about what I might like to accomplish in the coming year.
I often say that I am among society's least productive citizens and my sole contribution to society is that of being a consumer. I am actually quite happy in that role and I don't think that I am ready to mess up that particular brand of happiness.

Currently I am thinking that rather than focusing on doing in 2026, I will focus on being.
Right now, I don't know what that is going to look like.
Maybe it will be that instead of doing something like reading 50 books, I will work on being a reader.
I don't really know.

I do know that there can be great satisfaction in doing and completing a task or accomplishing a goal, and if goal setting is your thing then that's what you should do. 
But if goals don't motivate you and deadlines cause you stress, then maybe just being someone (yourself) or something (teacher, learner, artist, etc.) is more your kind of gig and is who or what you need to be.

There probably isn't much benefit to the world around me if I end up just being myself, but I am already a non-productive member of society so that's not a loss. 
Does being a responsible member of society mean that I have to be doing something to make someone else's life better?
Or does it mean I should allow others to be free to find their own happiness without my interference?

I think that purposefully living in the moment and appreciating the holiness of life will be a good way to spend my time in 2026. 
Being present and being aware of the wonder of nature connects me to the world and to the people around me.

For 2026 -- 
What will you do?
Who will you be?

John

It's the little things...

I never really realized how much I miss the little things of summer.
Yesterday it was 60 (15c) degrees here. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for the second shortest day of the year.

I decided to take advantage of the warm December day and fired up the smoker for some burgers and good quarter pound Angus beef hot dogs. 
I sat in the sun with a bit of bourbon, a good cigar, and played an online game of Wordfeud with my son, Aaron while the burgers and dogs slowly cooked on the smoker.

That was it.
That's all I did yesterday.
And yet I felt like it was a really good day.
Sipping bourbon and smoking a cigar while sitting in the sun doesn't seem like it should be the highlight of any day, but when you live as simply as I do -- well, it sure felt good.

I know that the slow pace of our retired life in the Ozarks of SWMO isn't what most people would consider to be the good life, but it suits us quite nicely. 

     * * * * *

In just a few minutes the sun will reach its southern most point in the earth's annual orbit and we can turn this planet around and begin our journey back towards spring and summer. For those of us living in SWMO, yesterday had just 9 hours, 36 minutes, and 4 seconds of daylight. Today will have 9 hours, 36 minutes, and 3 seconds, while tomorrow will have 9 hours, 36 minutes, and 5 seconds of daylight.

I know.

I'm a nerd for knowing this shit, but I am also amazed by the order of our little corner of the cosmos.

Happy Solstice to anyone that observes the annual event.
Winter is here, but spring is on its way!

John

December Deck Time and Thursday Theology

There aren't many December mornings that I get to spend time on the deck. Today is peculiar in that this morning's temperature is the warmest of the day and the day will be getting colder as it progresses.

Speaking of progress...
I've been considering religion a lot lately and I am wondering if questioning ones beliefs is a mark of a strong faith or a weak one. I really don't expect everybody's faith journey to be like mine, but I wonder about people that have no faith journey -- only a faith that remains the same for year after year and decade after decade. 
Nothing is challenged.
Nothing is questioned.
We believe what we have been taught without examination.
Nothing changes.

Is that faith?
It sounds more like indoctrination.

I've said it before and I will say it again:
The farther I got from religion, the closer I got to God.

My path is not your path.
But maybe you would benefit from challenging what you have been taught.
Check sources. 
Check the origins of the stories that your faith is based on.
Question everything.

Or don't.
If you are happy in your current state, be happy.
If your happiness is dependent on you condemning others, then you have a weird faith and a strange god.

John

Post #200 for 2025 -- Gratitude

For only the fourth time in the nearly 20 years of posting at Out of My Hat I have reached 200 posts for the calendar year. I have tried to avoid long stretches of not posting this past year, and rarely go an entire week without a post of some kind.

This December has been weird. Going back to work at the shelter has disrupted my rhythm more than I expected it to. I think I'll re-adapt to the 12 hour overnight shifts okay, but for now they're more difficult to recover from than I remember. Or it could just be that another year older is making a difference.

There is a certain rhythm at the shelter. The energy can change from night to night depending on the severity of the weather and the individuals that stay with us on any given night. Personality conflicts between guests or disruptive animals can quickly change the energy of the night. I think that as the winter progresses people are finding their places and the shelter that works best for them. 
Ours is the only shelter that accepts pets, so that is a draw to the pet owners. We do have a cap on the number of animals we take, so there are also pet-less people there that choose our shelter for other reasons.

With both men and women, couples or singles, pets and pet less, and other differences, our place can be a bit more chaotic than other shelters. 
As you can imagine -- it's a lot of people-ing for a guy that enjoys solitude as much as I do.

I will say that I have noticed more gratitude and help from our overnight guests this year than was present in the past year or two. I don't know if it is just the luck of the draw with the people that have been coming to our shelter or if there is a trend of gratitude and appreciation returning to the homeless community.
Whatever the case, it does make serving them throughout the night much more enjoyable.

And, as always --
We have some wonderful volunteers that give of their time to help make the shelter successful. 
We have faced some challenges getting volunteers in this beginning part of the season, but as more continue to step forward it does reduce the stress on the ones that have been serving so often. 
There are people or organizations that provide food for evening meals and for breakfast every day and there are volunteers that come in to serve the meals and clean up the kitchen. 
Every day there are people that show up to clean the facility, to haul laundry, and to transport pets.
And there are our coordinators that recruit and schedule everyone from the sign-up people at the beginning of the night to the clean up people after everyone leaves.

I am truly grateful to everyone that contributes to making our little shelter successful.
Thank you
Thank you 
Thank you!

John

Bah-humbug, and all that stuff!

Note to readers: After proofreading this I realize that it is more negative than I generally post and considered deleting it. But then I decided it's my rant and posted it anyway. Feel free to skip today's (or any day's) post.
JH

Christmas is an interesting time of year for a deconstructed evangelical Christian. While I still consider myself to be a follower of Jesus, I tend to view most religious things with the skepticism of a non-believer. Christmas as the celebration of the birth of the Christ-child just doesn't get it for me anymore. If I am being totally honest with myself, the whole "reason for the season" shite is just a saying to cover for the real reason of buying gifts and getting together with family and friends. 
And those are grand reasons to celebrate, I'm just having a difficult time transitioning to the secular Christmas that I struggled with in my Catholic childhood and evangelical adult life.

In my warped head I am thinking that Jesus is probably thinking WTF? as he looks down on a world that doesn't seem to care about glad tidings and has little (if any) goodwill among men.
For quite some time I have wondered what Jesus would say about a religion that celebrates his birth, but does little to actually follow his teachings. Something tells me that he never really wanted people to worship him the way religion has conditioned us to do, but just wants us to be kind and love one another.

Admittedly, there is a lot of good being done by a few churches and faith families. It is kind of sad that it isn't enough to really overcome my anti-church/anti-religion bias. It's probably accurate to say the good is being done by a few people in a few churches, but that may just be my negatively biased observation. 

I am going to go along to get along throughout the season. I am going to enjoy exchanging gifts with family and going to enjoy our time with the kids. I'll (semi) embrace the secular celebration and even give a religious head nod to Jesus, but I'd be lying to say my heart is really in it.
There is an abundance of good energy during the Christmas season. The world needs some good vibes. That's something I can celebrate.

However you choose to observe the season, do it well!
Merry Christmas
Happy Holidays
Whatever

John