A Thursday Thirteen Dichotomy and a Happy Thanksgiving!

Defined with examples. (Please ignore the html numbering that I cannot seem to correct.)

1. Reading about a 5-day fitness plan connected to my Fitbit newsletter while eating chocolate chip cookies.
2. The photo below shows two bags of  textbooks.  One I brought and the other my new student brought to our first class meeting.  You can guess which was hers and why I am now jogging in place as fast as I can!

1. I have been better about doing my free weight routine every other day...then on the days I am not working with weights I am lifting other things---to my mouth.
2. I had fiddled with my settings on Blogger to make it easier for me to use the template and it seems to have resulted in my readers being unable to find my blog updates.
3. I changed the bedding in the guest bedroom last week after my young-uns had left and because I complained about hubby's snoring keeping me awake last night he said, with a smile, I should just sleep up there since the sheets are clean.
4. I wrote a brief poem on my other blog, but like this blog, no one can seem to find it!
5. Each year I send out a list of possible things we would like to get in order to help busy children with their Christmas gifting, and as a result, I usually know what is beneath the wrapping paper on Christmas morning.
6. We have a new brand of supermarket in the area.  The produce looks fresher but the meat selection is not so good.
7. I have been carefully searching for real news sites that are not dependent on corporations for profit as much of the "liberal" press skims real news these days and now walks on eggshells since our new leader does not give much access, but this also means I am still reading news which is depressing.
8. I have a list which I have printed and placed next to my PC of  liberal news (im)postors that post click-bait junk and misleading headlines to my Facebook feed.  I no longer visit those news sites.  I also have a list of conservative news "impostors" on Facebook, but I rarely read them anyway.  An imposter is an imposter.
9. I have begun my bird counting.  The first two days were so windy I could barely see the little brown birds  among the little brown leaves, both hopping about.
10. We are eating out at a restaurant for Thanksgiving which means no food shopping or cooking or clean up.  It also means no family and no leftovers and no homemade items.
11. If you wonder why the world seems to be a dichotomy for me, the leader of the free world, while speaking with clarity, keeps changing his verbal position to an opposite stance on so very many things and this is very confusing to me.  I like consistency in old age.  Experience has shown it is wise.

Yes, I am a little bent out of shape these days...but not this skinny!

Missing Summer Already

Missing summer already.

Turning the Corner on the Wall

While I am not sure that the God most people believe in is anything like the energy of goodness that remains on this planet, I am sure that there is some good reason I am here at this time and place from some energy force I cannot see.  I have gone through many roller coaster thoughts about what this man who says one thing and does another or does one thing and says another while surrounding himself by white people who think that minorities have taken away opportunities for white Americans and advocate that women need to look "good" if they want to work in commerce.  (Artificial breasts along with artificial smiles, perhaps?  Whatever you do, do NOT contradict the men in the room.)

Anyway, before I get off on this rant that is happening on all social media, I repeat that I am blessed.  I will be starting today to train a middle-aged immigrant woman in better use of English so that she can work her way forward in this world.  I understand she ran a business in Peru before she came here.  I do not know if she came legally or illegally, but she has registered for classes, so I am guessing she is a legal immigrant trying to find a better life.  I feel the heavy responsibility, but I am practical enough to know that we are our own changemakers and not our mentors.

I may keep you posted, although I think this is going to be a bit of a whirlwind of a curriculum as she is super motivated and very smart.

As a mentor I get to bask in the glory of saying I am doing something to turn around this ship of fate no matter how small, while I ask myself, "How fast did Rome fall?"

The Game Is Rigged

One of the fanciest hunting huts I have ever seen.  Even had some tools inside but no cup holders.

Oddly there was not a crow, squirrel or other corn eating life form in sight!

Catching UP!

First, a big thank you to those who responded to my recent call for comments.  I now feel less ghostly!  I also get to add some new folks to my blogroll.  Second, the comment by Mage had me going, because she has a classic vocabulary.  Anyway the answer is "two mauve plastic plant pots" on the floor of the garage.  (If you do not know what I am talking about you have to read the comments.)  Third, I have been gone for three days taking care of a 5-year-old, a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old.  All went well...no stitches and  with the two being very active boys, I consider that a win.  The smoke alarm problem I wrote about before was a CO2 alarm dead battery problem located just across the floor and thus we spent $75 bucks having the electrician assist...although even he did not figure it out for quite some time. I also spent $30 on a new, and now unneeded, smoke alarm.  I am suggesting that smoke alarms and CO2 alarms should be required to have different tweets!!

My sciatica is kicking in which is rare but I still have to go out into the swamp today and help other volunteers with cleaning out the Wood Duck boxes.  Weather is calm and dry but will be in the low 40sC.  UGH.

I am still very depressed and angry at the election.  But we have met the enemy and he is us and we have only ourselves to blame for not seeing the deep seated frustration of this country's citizens and not holding our party's feet to the fire on fairness in selecting a broader band of candidates.  I WILL continue my fight on the issues of racism which has emboldened some very dark souls.  I will continue my outspoken belief that women do not get a fair chance in this country yet.  I will continue to write my representatives regarding the importance of our social programs that are on the agenda for being dismantled including Medicare which leaves many on fixed incomes with no alternative.

AND you can go here if you want to help count birds at your feeders:  http://feederwatch.org/

Now I am off to find some shoes that I do not mind getting muddy.

Thursday Thirteen: Signs of the Time

It is truly autumn and I have a list to prove it. (I almost did not post this because for some reason my blogs have become so boring that NO ONE comments anymore and that ---and the election results---took away my motivation.  My stats show that many seem to visit and that is fine, but could you at least say "Hi."?)

1. "They" are talking of a first frost in the coming week.  Mornings are into the low 50's F so it seems too early for Jack to visit.
2. Bird feeders are out and filled for participation in the Cornell Feeder Project.  This will be my seventh year in this citizen science program with over 80 counts submitted.
3. I am baking things with pumpkin in them.
4. I am transplanting iris that have taken over certain areas.  I am pruning most perennials.
5. The sugar maple is well into becoming brilliant red and it is well into losing its leaves.  This photo was taken days ago.

6.  I have been collecting kindling from all the trash that trees drop after every storm.  Hubby has been splitting wood.

7.  The three citrus trees are inside in the kitchen corner and under new lights pretending to be sun.  See prior post.

8.  Even with daylight savings time changes I still get up in the dark and go to bed in the dark.
9.  If the weather breaks 60F the sulphur butterflies appear on the pineapple sage.  I wonder where they go when the weather is cold.

10.  Holiday season means that most meetings have come to an end...wonderfully!
11.  I am so addicted to cosmos and will so miss them in the coming weeks.

12.  My tutoring project has been ended, maybe with mutual consent and maybe I will write a post on that someday when I have perspective.
13.  The bluebirds that were out and about elsewhere all summer have returned to my back yard and that has brought me some peace.

OK...now your turn.

I Was Never Good at Math But I Know When Things Do Not Add UP!

I had family down for an overnight and was so exhausted when they left on Sunday morning that I did not move for the rest of the day.  I just did bill paying and TV watching.  Then this morning I changed the sheets in one of the guest bedrooms and washed all the linens and towels.  Then I noticed that the sunlight is brilliant today.  It is that golden angle of the sun that photographers usually find only in the late dawn or early sunset hours most of the year.

Oddly even something as lovely as this lighting reminded me I needed to wash the windows.  I got that done on the first floor on three sides of the house and feel better.  The rest of the windows may never be cleaned before spring.  As you can see, I have a LOT of windows.  You can also see we have moved in the three citrus trees.

I finished the laundry and paid some more bills.  While going through the mail I got a thick envelope from my Long Term Care policy.  It is never good when you get a thick envelope of 5 pages written in 10 point font.  I scan the legalize and find that my long term care insurance will go up 15% this year...and no, it is impossible to blame this on the ACA.

"The premium increase is being implemented in accordance with the laws and regulations of the state (commonwealth or district) in which your policy was issued for delivery.  The premium increase is not based upon a change in your age, health, claims history or any other individual characteristic.  Our decision to increase premiums is primarily based upon the fact that the expected claims over the life of your policy form are significantly higher today than we originally anticipated when your policy form was priced.  Our decision to increase premiums was not based upon the current economic environment."

Underlining is mine.  In other words these guys get multi-million dollar salaries and they cannot predict with any success the health costs when there is "no inflation" for years and no increase in investment interest for years.  This paragraph is so carefully crafted by their lawyers, since individual owners changes in health, etc. are not allowable for premium increases, that I am not actually sure what it says.  What the hell is the increase based on??

Well, I will make a nice cup of tea and play with my photos this afternoon and hope I do not need to enter a care facility any time soon.

I Think I am Back to Normal so ...

Please stop by the Chubby Chatterbox website for a lovely work of art giveaway!!  His blog is wonderful to read and full of great stories  as well as short lessons on historic art.  You will like adding him to your blog list.  Or you can go here for the original link.

And...later that afternoon

You will remember in a prior post last week I did a photo journey of our three day visit to do some hiking in the mountains of West Virginia.  The fall was peaking and I had dozens of good photos.  I will not bore and share them all, but I will share our walk to our lunch spot on that perfect fall day and the view when we finally rested.

We were heading all the way to the ridge up ahead for a view during lunch.  As you can see, the trail sort of petered out.  I was being very careful at my age since it is easy to twist an ankle.

One way of being sure you do not fall is re-tying your shoes!

We still had a long way to go and as you can see lots of rocks are hidden beneath the shrubs.  There is no trail in actuality.

Yet, many have gone before us and had far more energy as they created markers to remind us we were not breaking new ground.

Then just up ahead we saw the wind farm which I think is a token non-fossil activity to warrant the HUGE power plant that you can see on the horizon on the left.

Finally we found the perfect lunch spot.  Someone had even put up a windbreak, although our day was not so windy.

Now you can sit on the hard rocks and I will pass you the ham and cheese sandwich that the hotel made for us.  Catch your breath because hubby wants to go back to the car via the woods to the West!

Chirp...Chirp...Chirp

I woke up for no apparent reason (usually able to blame husband's snoring, room being too warm, having to pee, or an odd animal sound outside) around 4:30 this morning.  I got up in the predawn dark house of late October, made a small pot of decaffeinated coffee (blood pressure issues?) and booted up the laptop.  First I go through FB and wonder how I can have so many updates on this page overnight.  Then I check my emails and delete 90% as they are requests for money for politics or good causes.  Then I read news headlines until I am thankful that my little corner of the world is still safe and quiet.  After an hour or so of this self-flagellation, I head upstairs to where my PC sits and begin to work on photographs.  It seems that the 30 I took yesterday of flowers and butterflies, which are still hanging around, are not very focused.  I have to delete almost all, and am upset because I think that I used the tripod yesterday!

Then in the silence of this little office in which the only sound is the computer fan, I hear a chirp.  Like a bird with its foot caught in something but is too shy to complain very loudly.  Since it is coming from one of the spare bedrooms I accept that it is not some little wren caught inside, and instead, must be the smoke alarm.  I. hate. these. safety. devices!  I have spent days in the past trying to fix them when they become dyslexic.  We paid a small fortune to have our basement freezer rewired about a year ago and also had the electricians replace all of the smoke detectors at that time as they needed electrical changes in plugs to install the newer versions I had purchased from the hardware store.  I was told that these are 10-year devices.  I was so relieved, because my experience has been when a device like this chirps, it is not a dead battery.  It is a poltergeist.

Hubby is still sleeping and will never be awakened by the chirp...chirp...chirp which is so much worse than the drip...drip...drip of a leaky faucet.  I, on the other hand, am getting an ulcer.  So I put up the step ladder, unscrew the device, blow in the holes, and reattached it.  Still chirping every 30 seconds!  I cannot push the reset button until hubby is up as that will sound like the house is indeed on fire.

Do you think this has something to do with Halloween?  I have not put up a single decoration this year.  Nada. I am so over decorating a house that very few even see.  Are the evil spirits upset that they are being ignored?  Are they punishing me for lack of pumpkins, ghost figures and hanging plastic spiders?  Chirp...chirp...chirp.

I think I need more coffee.

Asking for Help!

I have noticed in some of my comments to other blog my icon/avatar and my backlink are not available.  If clicked it just goes to a Google blogger page with no links or anything.  Just how long I have been blogging and how many profile views under a generic blogger profile.  Therefore, if someone wanted to comment directly and did not have my URL it would not appear there.  On a few other sites it appears as an accurate linkback to my site.  I think this has something to do with Google+ or perhaps the ID I am posting under?  Any help would be greatly appreciated as I used to have correct info posted on almost all of the blogger sites that I visited in the past and do not know why or how this has changed.  I cannot find any detail on the layout page that would help.

Come Take A Hike

After the wedding that I posted about below we took a few days off and drove up into the mountains of West Virginia.  We went way up high where the air is thin enough for the only spruce forest south of New York!  It is an area we have visited many times, and this time the leaves were peaking.  Put on your hiking boots or waterproof walking shoes (because we are going to cross a cranberry bog) and grab a sandwich, an apple and some water.  We will be home before sunset.

The rains that fell as Hurricane Matthew collided with a cool front from these mountains left a full day of heavy rain and the rivers that are usually just trickles of water were not so easy to cross.  In the photo below at the top is a patch of rhododendrons which will be lovely and fragrant in the spring.

When we got to the promontory and looked out at the falls a fellow hiker said she had been there just a few days before and the waterfall was just a trickle!  (I did not set the camera to stop the water but still like this version.)

You can hear the power of this rushing wall of water, can't you?

Then we drove to the summit for more hiking.

Up ahead after parking is a selection of trails.  As we got out of the car and headed to an overlook near one of the trails, dogs began barking furiously off in the trees at the side of the slope.  We later learned from the man at the hunter's two trucks that the hunters were training their dogs although the hunting season was over.  The noise we heard was because the dogs had tracked a bear.  Nothing more stimulating than thinking you might encounter a running and fearful bear on your trail!

We headed out over one of the trails we had not taken a prior time.  The trails are rocky as you can see from the geology above.  It is hard to enjoy views and vistas because you always have to keep secure footing and avoid the pockets of water.  We were crossing a cranberry bog that had intermittent islands of blueberry shrubs.

And, yes, there were cranberries.  Very bitter, but beautiful.

Hubby was able to keep his shoes dry as he had a different style.  My feet got wet several times, but the day was warm and it did not bother me to have slightly damp feet.  The air is as pure as it gets and the views are phenominal.  It is a harsh and unforgiving land with trees that struggle against winter winds.  Maybe next I will post about our lunch and the woods and our afternoon.