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