Monday Meditations

I saw this on Facebook this past week and decided it is worth contemplating.

It encourages us to look at people (not just ourselves) from a different perspective than we often do.
As trees grow, they continue to provide food and shelter for birds and other animals. They give shade. They filter the air taking in carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen. They blanket the ground with leaves and replenish the soil, and provide a host of other benefits.

We get old.
I no longer work or produce anything to benefit society. I often say that I am the least productive person I know. Maybe building flowerbeds and planting flowers is productive. It does feed the birds and bees and other pollinators. 
I did switch to a hybrid vehicle this year and that's better for the environment than the older car I was driving, plus it provided work for the laborers that built it (in Mexico).
I am still a consumer of goods that buys stuff and eats out often. I'm not a job creator, but I do need people in jobs that provide services and products that I use.
I may not be productive at this point in my life, but I do pay for other people to produce. I guess it's called privilege.

Maybe I need to focus more on growing and continuing to be a benefit to society. I think that trees are a good analogy since they are pretty passive in their contributions to nature. 

Hmmm...
Are you growing?
...or just getting old?

John

NaBloPoMo Fail

Sacrebleu!
I missed a day!
Yesterday was an unusual day. It was the first overnight shelter night of the season for me and the change in schedule and sleep and everything ended with the day passing by without blogging.
Ugh.

In the grand scheme of life it isn't really important. 
NaBloPoMo challenges me to write and I'm not convinced that that is important either. It just feels good and helps me to organize thoughts. There are many thoughts and ideas that I process through my head that never make it to the blog or any written form, but the process itself is therapeutic and calming.

For example --
This past week I've spent a lot of time thinking about things I am thankful for. I wrote a few things, but not much in comparison to the time I spent dwelling on how grateful I am. The struggles, challenges, and joy in my family and extended family have been a large part of my thoughts lately, but again, that's not stuff that gets written about.

Contemplating what I'm reading often inspires something to write. Sometimes I share the questions when I find the answers to be challenging.
I do wish that my writing was more organized. I suppose it is a reflection of me -- go with the flow and not very organized. 

With only a few days left in the month and with a twofer along the way, I can still end up with 30 posts for 30 days if I continue to post daily, so...maybe.
Or maybe not.
We'll see.

John

Black Friday

Today's retailers will once again make it into the black ink of accounting without gathering any of my money. I will dutifully avoid anything to do with shopping -- in person, or online -- and let the bargain hunters enjoy the chaos of the capitalistic side of the holidays.

I will venture out to the library at some point. I have a couple of books due today.
It's been since spring that I've enjoyed some fiction reading, but I opened the Kindle app on my phone the other day and picked one of the freebies in my library. Maybe I'm on the way to another 600 day streak. I suppose that reading a book about witches, werewolves, and other fantasy creatures isn't any worse than scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, or X.

With the cold weather shelters opening up and several overnight shifts ahead of me, some reading material will come in handy. I like using the phone app for reading as it's very portable, always with me, and easy to read in low light. With the Kindle Unlimited subscription most books are free (the subscription costs a few bucks) and there is an abundance of available material. For books not available on Kindle there is the local library. I haven't yet tried to use the library's e-reader. I may have to do that at some point.
Another advantage of an e-reader is being able to set the print color, background lighting, and font size. Although I rarely use glasses anymore, some actual books are more difficult to read in lower light than they used to be. Using my bifocals or a pair of reading glasses are sometimes necessary.
I have an older android tablet that I may update and use for a reader when I'm at home this winter. The larger reading area might be nice and the Kindle app will keep each device current so changing from the tablet to phone will be seamless. 

That - rarely using glasses anymore - thing has been a nice surprise. I'm not sure how to explain it. My last visit to the eye doctor was the first visit since retiring nearly nine years ago that my vision didn't improve. It didn't get any worse, but it didn't get better. 
Another weird eye thing -- my eye color has changed. My eyes used to be a very dark brown, but are now more of a light brown, nearly hazel color. I'm not sure when that happened. I just noticed it one day a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately, my eye color is the only thing that has gotten lighter. The rest of me is as heavy as ever!

Enjoy your weekend -- however you decide to spend it.

John

Thanksgiving

It will be a quiet Thanksgiving at our house. In spite of the fact that it will just be me and Chris, Chris decided that we'll have the full meal deal -- turkey, all the fixin's, and pumpkin pie!
I'll take advantage of the nice, warm day that is forecast and get some work done outside (It really is never ending).

I will begin today as I start most days -- quiet time and coffee.
Although I'd rather be enjoying a warm, sunny morning on the deck, coffee by the fireplace isn't a horrible way to begin a day.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

A timely thought from Nadia Bolz-Weber

To my US friends,
Have a grand Thanksgiving weekend!

John

Laundromat Blues

Sunday night I went to load our dryer with the load of towels from the washing machine and ...
Sacrebleu! It appears that the bearings on our 26 year old dryer are shot!
I had to find a laundromat open on a Sunday night and a few dozen quarters to dry the towels.
It has been a lot of years since we made regular trips to a laundromat.

It is possible that we could have had it repaired, but the cost of a repair and then still having a 26 year old appliance with a new bearing vs. a new dryer didn't make much sense. Data shows that it had far outlived the expectancy of such appliances. And at 26 years old, I wonder about the availability of parts.

Yesterday we went shopping and bought a new dryer and it will be delivered tomorrow. I may go into the appliance delivery business. One place we checked had an additional $190 dollars for delivery and pick up of the old dryer! We bought the same dryer from a different place for the same price and a much lower delivery fee.
I haven't seen any lonely Maytag repairman commercials in some time, but I hope that this new Maytag dryer will have a similar lifespan to our last dryer (an Amana). It will definitely have a lighter work load. 

John

Binge Watching

I don't binge watch TV shows like other people binge watch. I watch one or maybe two episodes at a time until I'm finished. If it is an older series (and they usually are) it might take a month or two to watch all of them or to get current on an active series. I just finished the 5 seasons of the new MacGyver series. I enjoyed it and would have liked a season 6, but can understand the network not renewing for a sixth season as the story line was becoming less enticing.

I'm looking forward to the Reacher season 2 beginning in September and may have to find something to watch on those overnight shifts at the cold weather shelter. I started watching The Discovery of Witches series last year, but the cold weather season ended before I got very far. Maybe I'll pick it up again.
I also watched the first three Harry Potter movies before the season ended and wasn't interested enough to continue watching them otherwise. 

It's that time again and so I'll be looking for something to pass the overnight hours.
What would you be watching if you were in my place?

John

Before the Rain

I knew it was going to rain today and I still needed to finish filling the flower bed with topsoil. 
I needed two more trailer loads (about 2/3 cubic yd) and then to spread it all out.
It's just started raining, but I finished with plenty of time. I even managed to fix and eat a nice breakfast after my mini morning workout.

It comes out to 108' x 8' x 5" or just over 13 cubic yards of dirt.
Next is to repair some of the timbers that have warped or were knocked loose when filling with dirt. Then I'll put up the fence panels and then I'll plant some bulbs and add mulch.
I am looking forward to spring/summer when all of the flowers are in bloom!

John

Weekend Recharge

What a privilege to meet with some of the people that will be volunteering at the overnight shelter this cold weather season. Our shelter had an orientation evening to familiarize us with our new location and some of the new procedures that will be in place this year. It was good to see some familiar faces and especially exciting to see some new faces. 

It looks like we'll be open a night or two this coming week and then open for several nights in a row beginning next weekend. I'm not sure if I'm ready for this, but the cold weather and the need for the open shelters isn't going to wait for me to be ready. There is going to be a lot of people-ing in the coming months.

Here is a link to our Facebook page. From here you can sign up to volunteer, purchase supplies from our Amazon wish list, or make a contribution. If you are not a part of our local community, consider finding a shelter near you to serve. 
It's that time!

John

Paybacks vs Paying Forward

I'm kind of excited about something I get to do today.
First the back story --

Over the years, so many people have helped Mom and Dad with rides to doctor's appointments or treatments. Even now, Mom still gets rides from friends or relatives as she has surrendered her driver's license and sold the van. There really is no way to payback all of the folks that have helped them by providing transportation when I couldn't.

A week or so ago I saw a post about a resident of Eden Village that had an appointment for medical treatment and thought -- It's time for payback, or more correctly -- time to pay it forward. 
I contacted the director and offered to be available to provide transportation for residents that might need a lift to doctor's appointments or something like that. 
Yesterday I got a late request for today.
I'm pretty stoked about this.
The appointment is in the middle of the day and I won't get much else done today, but damn, I am really more excited about this than I probably should be.

It's grey, overcast, and cool
...and I am really looking forward to this day!
I hope you are, too.

John

Late post

 

Wednesday Wisdom

 

Twofer Tuesday

Ave Maria Immaculate

Kirkland's spiced rum eggnog 

NaBloPoMo Blues

I can tell it's about halfway through the month of November because I'm starting to ask myself -- Why did I start this NaBloPoMo thing again this year?
And I don't have a new pic to post this morning, either!
Maybe I'll take one later and have a twofer Tuesday post!
Maybe not.

I am so grateful for the nice weather we've been having -- both for the ability to get out and work and for each nice day that brings us closer to spring and seems to shorten the coming winter. It's too bad I am not very motivated to start working earlier on the daylight shortened days. At least any deadlines I have are pretty much self-imposed and easily shifted.

Today's journal prompt asks -- "What time of day are you most productive?"
It then encourages tracking activity and production for a week and learning to maximize that productive time.

I'd have to say that my best time is early afternoon -- sometime between noon and around 4 PM.
That isn't always ideal when it's summer time, but fortunately, I don't mind working in the midday sun. I'll need to start a little earlier than that today if I am to successfully move a couple of tons of dirt. I only managed a little more than one ton yesterday and am hoping to double that today. It's days like these that I really notice the effects of aging.

I am looking forward to a good day of work and then an evening cigar and perhaps, the first spiked eggnog of this holiday season.
What are your plans for the day and when is your most productive time?

John

Fall Gardening

Cleaning up garden spots in the fall isn't as enjoyable as planting in the spring. Honestly, it's a lot more like work than the labor of love it feels like in the spring.
I've already harvested some seeds and yesterday I was cutting back the stems and dead leaves from some of the hosta plants. I'll probably be thinning them in the spring so let me know if you want some.

I thought it was interesting that the few post-frost warmer days that we've had have encouraged some new growth among the hosta varieties that are in a more protected area.

These guys will have a couple of weeks until another overnight frost kills them off for the season. Nature always amazes me with its resilience.
Still plenty of work to do.

John

Gratitude

I'm sitting here this morning and wondering...
It seems that recent Novembers have been filled with thankfulness posts on different social media platforms. I haven't seen that this year and I wonder why.

It is pretty easy for me to take this quiet and simple life of mine for granted, but I rarely do. I am daily grateful for the privilege of living this retired life in this comfortable manner. It is difficult to express that with the intensity that I feel it. 
Saying (or writing) that I am thankful for family, or thankful for friends (both of you), or even thankful for things that make life easier doesn't adequately convey the gratitude that I feel.

Maybe that's why there aren't daily gratitude posts this year.
Maybe we've figured out just how empty it sounds to say -- I'm thankful for my _____ -- day after day.
In reality, those often simple moments of gratitude are the stuff that makes for a good life.

This past week I spent a few hours with a guy that just has a life giving energy. We exchanged and smoked cigars, sipped bourbon and talked. I don't think I would use the word "fun" to describe our time together, but it was definitely enjoyable and I am truly grateful for his friendship.
Later that evening, Chris and I went out to listen to our friends' band. That's always an enjoyable evening. While I am not much of a people person, I do enjoy these nights out whether it's just Chris and me or we meet some friends for the evening.
Maybe we should find another band or musician to follow, as well.

Here's another simple and seemingly worthless experience -- watching my crow friends eat the peanuts I leave for them.

They are so skittish that it is difficult to take a picture, even from this distance. If I start moving around on the deck after they land close by and start to make their approach to the rock, they sense the nearby movement and leave.
I am hoping to be able to get closer as they get more used to feeding there.

What is something you are grateful for today?
A simple pleasure.
Maybe something as simple as a favorite coffee mug or a cozy blanket.
Care to share?

John

16 Tons

You load 16 tons,
What do you get?

I'll let you know.
That's about how much topsoil was dumped onto my yard yesterday. I'll be moving it to my flower boxes and backyard over the next few days. It's too bad I don't have a tractor with a scoop. I suppose I could have if I want to make the deeper in debt part come true. I'll definitely be more than another day older by the time I finish.

Have a grand weekend!

John

Books

It's been awhile since I posted about books, so I thought I'd throw a couple of mini reviews your way.

The Ballot and the Bible by Kaitlyn Schiess was much different than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be a bash on today's Christian Nationalism and the current state of the evangelical right in the US. 
It isn't.
Rather, it is a well researched and well written history of blending of religion and politics that examines how what we believe becomes who we are both as individuals and as larger communities, even nations. It wasn't a read that catered to my confirmation bias about religion and politics. It was more of a history lesson that teaches the past and reminds us of the effects of our religious/political ties of the past. Whether you are religious or not, this is a good read. I think Ms Schiess is changing the image of theologian from the bearded old white guy to an energetic and educated young woman. Don't walk barefoot around her. She is going to be breaking glass ceilings.

Shameless by Nadia Bolz-Weber. 
I've been following this pastor/author on social media for some time. I love her rebellious spirit and fresh outlook into the scriptures. Her transparency into her struggles in life and how her relationship with God and religion have taught her to love all of God's creatures is inspiring. I'm a little ashamed that this is the first book of hers that I've read and really only picked it up because I saw it at the library when I was looking for something to read.
I will definitely be reading more of her books!
Shameless takes a deep dive into how religion and society has bent the love of God into a controlling text that causes guilt and shame just for being who we were created to be. There is a story of one person that burned her bible -- all except for the four gospels. She said that Jesus never did or said anything to hurt her. She kept and cherished the words and stories of Jesus.
This is a book on learning to love ourselves. Once we've learned that lesson, we are much better equipped to love others.

Both books are well worth your time. 
What are you reading?

John

Cooler Temps Ahead

The last three days have been sunny and warm, but now the cooler temps are settling in and I think we've seen the last of the summer like days. It has made it into the 80s (27c) each of the last three days, but I don't even see a 70 (21c) degree day for the rest of the month. Nights will also be much cooler with a few nights towards the end of the month dipping down to the freezing point.

Sitting by the fireplace in the early morning or late evening is nice, but it really doesn't compare to sitting on the deck and enjoying the view and the sounds of nature. I know there are still going to be afternoons when I will sit out and enjoy a cigar, but the evening smokes are going to be few and far between as the colder nights settle in. I took advantage of last night's temp to enjoy a good, long smoke and sip a nice bourbon. 

I tend to smoke less expensive cigars during cold weather. That way I don't feel bad about letting them go out if I change my mind and decide it's too cold to be outside. I'm considering not putting up the plastic panels this year. I don't know if I'll stay with that or feel like I need to be out here enough to justify it. I guess we'll see.

Looking on the bright side, the daytime 50s (10c) and 60s (15c) will be perfect for shoveling the topsoil into the new flower bed!

John
 

Rethink

That evening quiet time thing may not be for me.
I didn't get an earlier start on doing things yesterday. I just didn't have a good morning quiet time.
I did get an evening sunset pic, but didn't post again yesterday.
Here's yesterday's sunset as seen from the Highlandville firehouse near our home:

I am still amazed at how far south the sun has traveled in its daily path around the earth. The morning sun is just getting ready to breach the eastern horizon and shine brightly into the deck. It is 64f (18c) this morning (yes, I slept on the deck) and that is warmer than the daytime high forecast for the next few days. 
After today's 81f (27c), it will be back to fall temps for both daytime highs and overnight lows.

I haven't worked on the fence/flower garden at all for a week or so. I guess I'll get back to it. I'm having the topsoil delivered in a couple of days, so I need to finish painting the panels. 50-60 (10-15) degree weather is good for that kind of outdoor labor when you're an old, fat guy like me.

On with the day.
Have a great one.

John

Changing with the times...

I'm going to try to make some changes to my morning routine.
In an effort to make better use of the limited, and earlier, hours of daylight, I think I'm going to try moving my meditation time to evening. With sunset coming so early and plenty of dark hours to spend chilling on the deck, I think I can be more productive by doing stuff that needs daylight earlier and saving the quiet time for later.
To be honest, I'm not certain this will work well. I really do enjoy the slow start to each day. In fact, I will still enjoy my morning coffee at a leisurely pace, and take a moment as I begin each day. 
This might not last too long, or I may go on more of a day-by-day basis as the mornings get colder. One of the most wonderful things about retirement is not having a schedule. 

However, blog posts may become more of an evening thing in the coming days. Today may be a twofer as I might post this evening if I come up with a pic for the day.

Also--
a note on comments:

I choose to allow anonymous comments back when I started this blog and will continue to do so. However, I often receive anonymous comments from people that obviously know me and it would appear that they think I might know who they are -- I don't. If you leave a comment and don't use your Google or Blogger identity, feel free to sign your name so that I know who is commenting. If you truly want to remain anonymous, that's cool, too.

John

Monday Meditation

Sorry about another post on religion, but my thoughts keep coming back to how much I have changed since I set aside that evangelical thing about needing to tell everybody how much they need Jesus and how they are going to hell unless they pray the magic words.
I have a very different attitude about the bible and a different approach to reading the instructions and lessons that Jesus taught. I also wonder how people read the bible with a perspective of how it teaches others how they should live without ever considering that it is supposed to be teaching us how we should live.

When I focus on my relationship with the Creator, on my relationship with others, on my relationship with creation -- there really isn't time to worry about what others are doing. Sure, I would love for others to experience peace and to work on making the world a better place, but that is a decision and action that they have to be responsible for making and taking on their own.I am happy to encourage them -- even help them -- along the way, but I can't be responsible for them. I have a full time gig taking care of John.
I really don't know how people find the energy to concern themselves with how everybody else acts or what they believe.

Something I do believe in is being kind to one another.
Last week, an old friend that I hadn't seen for quite some time messaged me about getting together for a bit. While on a Caribbean cruise celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary, they made a stop in the Dominican Republic and he picked up a cigar for me at a boutique cigar shop. 

It was quite an enjoyable smoke.
I like the pigtail finish at the cap end, and the two tone wrapper. I also like the size of this one - 6 x 60.
It was a mild, easy smoke with nice flavor subtleties that changed over the course of the nearly two hour smoke. It's difficult to express how touched I am that he thought of me. The thought and the cigar together made for quite a gift. It was also great to visit for a little while and catch up on life.

Not only did this simple act of kindness lift me up, but it also serves as an encouragement to do the same for someone else. I wonder how far the ripples of this act of kindness will reach.


John

Right on Schedule!

You can mess with the clocks, but ol' Sol stays right on schedule!

It would be so nice if we could forget Daylight Savings Time and quit f**king with the clocks twice a year.

John

Good Morning

It will be cloudy today, but warm -- 68f (20c)!
I'll take it!
I might even be back on the deck tonight as the overnight low is forecast for 50f (10c).

I think I'll go to a Native seed sale at a local brewery/coffee shop this morning.
Enjoy your weekend!

John

Music

You might remember that I bought a used ukulele last summer. I played around with it a little bit, but it has mostly been collecting dust on the mantel for the past few months. Maybe it's time to resume torturing the birds in the backyard and frustrating myself by messing around with it again.
Music is supposed to soothe the soul. I don't think the sounds I produce are very soothing for anyone and the learning part is more frustrating than it is calming. It would no doubt be much less frustrating if I found an old guitar and tried picking that back up instead of learning something new.

My pic for today:

John

Feeding Rock

Today's photo post comes a little late in the day as I had other things to attend to this morning.
These large rocks were dug up when excavating for the foundation of our house. I suppose they would have made a nice landscaping feature for the front yard, but that's not where the contractor left them. Eventually, I hope to make a birdbath kind of fountain water feature. The idea is in my head; I just have to work it out and put it together.

For now, this is where I have been leaving a handful of raw peanuts for the crows each morning. I'm not sure if I am training them or if they are training me. Sunday morning was a pretty frosty morning and I opted for coffee inside instead of bundled up on the chilly deck. Around 8 o'clock I heard the loud cawing of the crows in the back yard. I looked out the window and saw two of the three that usually show up, so I put on a jacket and went out to feed them. 
As soon as I stepped out, they flew off. They are very cautious about taking the peanuts, but they didn't go far. I left a handful and returned to the house. When I checked about 30 minutes later, the peanuts were gone.

I'll have to work on getting a picture or video of them "stealing" my peanuts.

National Blog Posting Month

It's cold in SWMO so the deck plants are now in the basement where they will spend the winter. I bought a couple of these plant shelves for these plants and to begin seeds in the spring. The elephant ears and dahlias will winter in their pots in the John Deere room.

I am already ready for spring!

John