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