Week 7 - Day 46: 38th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

Tomorrow they start opening up things in Dallas again.  I am not so sure I think that is a great idea... but I am also painfully aware that there are a great many people who cannot continue on the path that we are on.  I think for me, I will probably keep lying low... and try to stay out of groups of people in public places.  I have started doing my shopping during off hours because the grocery has got to be the worst place of all. Besides picking up food at a few restaurants and hitting the Pet Supply store, I really have not ventured out where there are people.  And I guess I will make a choice to keep it that way.

In July of 2015 I wrote that 14 days of doing x would create a new habit.  Apparently that belief has been proven wrong.  Not long ago on a Podcast I heard that a habit is not set in cement without an additional 18 to 254 days!!  With the average being 66.  That is a far cry from 14. So it takes two months of consistent behavior to create a habit... at which point if you are not there, you go two more... and if you are still not there, you will at least know you are halfway!!

This came to mind because I came across another article on understanding the difference between habits and routines.  Simply put, you need to know the difference between the two so that you are not setting yourself up for failure, and disappointment.  By definition, any activity that is deliberate, or requires concentration and additional effort is NOT a habit and cannot become a habit.  This activity is most likely a routine.  

Routines are sequences of actions that we regularly follow.  Habits are a type of routine that we regularly follow; but not every routine can become a habit.  Habits can be executed without thought while doing other things, often.  See the full article here.  Prior to reading this article, I had not really thought about the difference between these two things.  But it certainly does explain some of my frustration when I have a routine that I felt "should be a habit" by now...

Motivation is a key factor as well as behaviors and actions.  So at the end of the day to make this short, we are likely all creating some good, or better habits.  This would include things like washing our hands frequently and effectively; keepings our houses picked up and neater than perhaps they were; and taking a walk every day.  We probably have some new routines to go along with this - like cleaning our houses; cooking meals; and for me riding my bike and writing my blog!

Are you developing habits or routines (or both)?

Week 7 - Day 45: 37th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

There were miracles of a particular kind at my house the last two days straight.

Miracle #1:  After a year in exile, Miss Kitty of her own will, has decided that she can in fact venture beyond the walls of my office.  That story starts almost a year ago exactly when I brought her home from my grandmas house to live with me.  Miss Kitty had been yet another stray that my grandmother took care of.  She was very fond of this one, and I have to say, this cat provided her most excellent company.  As she aged, Miss Kitty became the primary reason my grandmother was so mobile.  Seriously.  She was obsessive about knowing the location of the cat and Miss Kitty was resistant to cooperation, aka coming when she was called.  Their routine went something like this:

MaMa - Call the cat several times
Miss Kitty - Stay where she was unmoving
MaMa - Get the flashlight and get out of her chair
Miss Kitty - Stay in place like a statue
MaMa - Open closet and look while calling
Miss Kitty - Blissfully ignoring

MaMa and me in 2017

MaMa - Get on her knees to look under the bed
Miss Kitty - Stare at the flashlight and sigh
MaMa - Go back to her chair

They did this same routine dozens of times a day. If you were there, you could say, MaMa, she is under the bed - you just looked a few minutes ago.  But inevitably, she would get up to look again.  I do not know how many 99 year olds you know, but I bet not many of them are getting up and down off the floor from their knees dozens of times a day!  

At night time, Miss Kitty always came out and sat in my grandma's lap, sometimes for an hour or more, while MaMa scratched her head as she watched TV.  After my grandmother would go to bed, she would come out and sleep near her knees on the bed with her, and be there when she woke up.  Then it was right back to the game of disappearing to the closet or under the bed for the day, while MaMa sought her out.  Both of my grandmothers cats were good company for her as she aged.  They gave her purpose and companionship.  Whitey died several months before Miss Kitty had to make a change of homes.  She was very ferrell and very attached to only my grandmother, so that was probably for the best.

Whitey (on the bed) and Miss Kitty (near the closet door on the floor)

Miss Kitty was not happy when I removed her from the only home she had ever known.  I think she was clinically depressed her first many months in Texas.

Izzy was definitely just as unhappy, if not more so, when I showed up with yet another new cat in tow. She had decided she liked being an only child and so she exerted quite a large amount of female cat pissiness on Miss Kitty upon her arrival.  She also started marking her territory like a male cat.  So they were separated.  Miss Kitty went into my office as it was one of the only places with a door I could shut.

During her time there, she has been visited often by myself when I was home, by Renee, and by Teresa.  About 5 months ago, when I would come home on the weekends, I would open the office door and leave it open.  Izzy would go in and check things out - see what she was missing.  But Miss Kitty would never leave.  I would drag her out to my bed once in awhile, for a change of pace.

During this 45 days at home straight, I started a new routine with her.  Going in more, talking to her a lot, and dragging her into my office/room for hours at a time.  Low and behold, three days ago she walked into my bedroom on her own.  Now I grant you she may have been searching for dinner, but we are not going to focus on that because yesterday she did the same thing when she had plenty of food and crawled up on the bed on her own and stayed there all afternoon and into the night.  Two nights in a row!!

...which leads to Miracle #2: Izzy crawled up on the bed at the same time last night and we all went to sleep.  I could not have been happier.  I think there is a small chance they could become friends.  Miss Kitty is still not venturing far.  She walked half way down the hall yesterday then chickened out and went back to her safe zone.  But hey, I will take what I can get.

Final Miracle #3:  I was able to get my computer started to get all of the media off of it.  As it turns out, the fan was fried and I had LEFT it plugged in after I spilled water on it (ARGHHHHH) and it was HOT.  Very HOT.  I unplugged it and let it dry in the sunshine with the battery out. Then I took liquid air and sprayed into the vent where the fan blows out.  Got it rebooted and just kept dousing it with air every 10 minutes or so while I backed off the contents.  I will get a new second computer as I need a backup (always) when working for myself.  But I am most happy to have the CONTENTS of the computer safely moved to an external hard drive.  YAY.  Happy endings.

Here's to more miracles in our lives!

Happy Hump Day!

Week 7 - Day 44: 36th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

Water.
Humans all need water to live.
Animals all need water to live.
Things that grow on the earth, all need some type of moisture to live.

Do you know what dies when you give it a cup of water?
Your computer.

Do you know how I know this?
Because I gave mine a cup of water on Sunday night.
Hell, I was stingy, I only gave it a sip of a full cup - maybe like 1/3 of a cup.
The result was still death.

Maybe not complete death, it is urping noises when I attempt a boot up.
So there is some tiny bit of life still there.
But without full vibrant life, I cannot do the one thing on my whiteboard that I was supposed to do TWO weeks ago with my computer... know what that was?

Cloud.
Computers need the cloud to have an after life.
The cloud is their savior.
It is like the sci-fi movies where the essence of a human is stored in a disc and can be re-inserted in any human body.
Same thing with a computer - their very soul can be uploaded to Dropbox and live on long after their shell dies from something simple, like a tiny sip of water it did not need, but evidently wanted.

Learn.
Learn from my heartache and grief this week.
Learn from my mistakes.
BACK UP YOUR COMPUTERS AND CELL PHONES!!

Me too...
Although my cell phone, I wish for it to die.

It is never the one I want.
The good ones die too early.
The bad ones live on and on and on.

So many life lessons in my electronics.

Have a good Tuesday April 28th (says my whiteboard).

That means we need to remember that tomorrow is the day a Secret Love comes out on Netflix.  

The documentary of two women's love that spanned Centuries as they pretended and lived as Cousins.  Looking forward to watching their story.

Week 7 - Day 43: 35th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

Today we will cross the 1 million mark in diagnosed coronavirus cases in our country, and over 56 thousand deaths.  Who can even imagine how many millions more are out there undiagnosed? How many more will be sick before this is controlled, and how many untold thousands more will die?  These are all questions we can all ask, but cannot even begin to answer.

I would like to think that during this time we are learning something.  That we are learning important lessons as individuals, as communities, and as a nation.  What important lessons are we learning? 

Speaking only for myself:

• I am learning to value the people in my life.  Each person exists within the realm of my world for a reason.  I am learning to appreciate that each day.  
• I am learning to reach out and help people that I perceive may need help;  To do this earnestly, quietly, and expect nothing from them in return.  
• I am learning to look forward to down time and extra sleep.  I think this life lesson will help me on a path to better health.
• I am learning the value and necessity of nature - the outdoors with fresh air and sunshine; observation of creatures great and small.
• I am learning that a job is not a guarantee - and I am thankful for my own.
• I am learning that I have spent too many years acting like government was this thing that I did not need to be concerned about;  I realize now that I must care and I must be an active participant in our process for it to work.

I am afraid not all of my lessons are warm and fuzzy:

• I am learning it is easier to call someone a name than do anything else.
• I am learning that I have a high degree of intolerance to people I perceive as "stupid".
• I am learning that I am nearly 100% non-supportive of most of our elected leaders with an almost 0% respect factor.
• I am learning, more than ever, that life is unpredictable and just when I think I can no longer be surprised, BOOM, I find myself shocked and reeling.

I ask myself, wow, Angie, where exactly do you go with this?  Especially the things that are not what I would deem as positive lessons.  I do not know the answer to that question either.

I have to start somewhere so I am starting with the top of the more negative part of my list.  I am really going to try and work on not calling public officials, politicians, TV anchors, friends of friends (whom I do not even personally know) any type of names this week. When I was a kid, name calling was absolutely not allowed in any form.  I am really going to try to work on this by using the old trick of converting a negative statement to a positive one.  I will likely feel like I am in grade school all week... but on this one, if I am going to survive this pandemic, I really have to work hard on communicating how I feel about what is happening out there a little better to those around me. And being reduced to just spouting derogatory names every day is probably not helpful in that communication. (Even if I feel that most people I know feel exactly the same way!)

I am pretty sure we all have valuable life lessons we have chalked up so far... 

What is yours?  

Thinking about any you want to make changes on?

Fabulous Weekend Edition: Day 42: 34th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

One of my favorite apps that I have ever put on my cell phones is Instagram.  I think it is pretty cool to be able to collect photos we flash, primarily with our cell phones, in a single repository.  I believe as part of the agreement for them doing this for free you give up all rights concerning your photos.  So they can choose to do whatever they like with them, including sell them.  But here are some of my favorite snaps since I became a member in this community.

SUNRISES/SUNSETS

June of 2018
Stacy, Teresa and Gail
Sunset 
Cell Phone

























April 2017
Del Mar Beach CA
Sunset 
Cell Phone

November 2017
DeGray State Park Arkansas
Sunrise
Canon EOS Digital

NATURE

Jan 2018
Hike Bosque ABQ, NM
Owl Sunning in house doorway
Cell Phone





















October 2017
Outside Dallas
Birthday Hike
Cell Phone

November 2017
Degray State Park, Arkansas
Bald Eagle in a tree top - seen from a boat
Canon EOS Digital

PETS

June 2017
Aslan Moving Day
"There's no place else to sit!"
Cell Phone

July 2017
Rascal Unpacking
"Please, I need darkness"
Cell Phone

July 2017
Izzy Unpacking
"This is my favorite shelf - no more boxes here please"
Cell Phone

Fabulous Weekend Edition: Day 41: 33rd Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

HAPPY SATURDAY

Now THAT is going to catch your eye!!  Another weekend is upon us and I am sure I am asking myself, now what shall I do with myself??  We are supposed to have a pretty great weekend weather wise so I am hoping to spend a fair amount of time outside.  I do wish that Dallas was a wee bit closer to some mountains, or a National Park... But we will just need to make do with what we have.  Maybe I can get outside with my camera and do some macro photography!  

Speaking of National Parks, there are now 61 of them.  Can you name them all?  You are super well informed with a great memory if you can.  Can you name 10 of them?  How about 5?  If you can only name a few but  want to learn more, there is a super series on Prime (if you have Amazon you have access to Prime - and if you do not have it ask a friend or family member - someone can get on).

The series is call Ken Burns - The National Parks: Americas Best Idea.  The 12 hour documentary (in 6 two hour episodes plus a bonus episode) goes through the history of the National Parks.  It is really well done.  It took them six years to do all of the filming. Really focuses on the people involved.

Also on Prime, if your attention span is a little bit shorter - you can watch the DVD series called America's 58 National Parks.  Each park is an episode and they are around 10 minutes long for each.  Awesome way to learn a little about each park.  A few were added since this was made.  This DVD series is also purchasable online.

This National Parks map is one I grabbed online... that is sold.  I have one of those cool maps that you scratch off after you have visited the place.  While I have visited quite a few of the parks... I want to do them all (some again) before I am 60.  

I better get with it as you can see the 61 are all over the place!

Farthest away are Alaska and Hawaii.  I have done Hawaii's so I think the hardest ones now to do will be Alaska's - there are 8 and I have done 3.  They do have a number of them up there.  You can get a complete listing by state if you click here.

I have visited Acadia three times over the last few years.  I really love the most Eastern of the National Parks.  Sand Beach is touted to be one of the darkest places in the US.  Zero light pollution and you can actually see the Milky Way with the naked eye they say.  You need to visit in July and August to experience that.  I am not sure what permit is needed to be in the park after dark, but I would like to go there some clear summer evening.

If you have visited National Parks, which are your favorites, and why?  

If you have not visited them, which one would you like to start with?

Week 6 - Day 40: 32nd Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

40 days straight of being at home.  Out of this have come some great things: 

• My house is clean and closets are more organized; 
• The Ninja Foodi has been used and it was actually fun cooking with it; 
• Completed my April Goal on Bike Riding (20 miles on one ride);
• Quality time has been spent catching up with friends via text and phone; 
• One puzzle was completed;
• I have laughed at many humorous memes, musical parodies and other shenanigans on the internet; 
• and I created a new habit for adding to my blog site.

All in all, not a bad 40 days.

With May fast approaching, I need to put some new goals in sight.  

I am hoping on a weekend still to get my cats a CATIO built.   I think they both will love being able to sit outside and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine.  So one weekend when I am doing nothing else when it is easier to travel to the shop for tools and materials, and Lowe's for anything I am missing, that is going to be "THE PROJECT" of the weekend.

I still need to get my garage in acceptable condition.  This is a much larger ongoing project.  There are many items in the garage from various projects that are not finished - 3 major projects of mine are sitting out there.  Plus stuff to go through from when we closed custom curbage and the last load or two ended up in the garage vs the shop because it was a shorter trip.  So there is that.  May would be a GREAT time to finish those three projects.  

I have my biking Goal for May already set.  I want to work up to a 30 mile bike ride.  I may have to start scouring the internet for a street bike vs riding my offroad heavy bike on the street.  We will see if that happens - regardless though - 30 miles, here I come!  I love riding bikes - for me, it is great exercise without feeling like a workout.  Dallas has an extensive trail system that I am still learning.  So I will be exploring more of that.

Speaking of workouts... while I have not gained the COVID-19, yet... I am making progress in that direction.  THAT progress is NOT a good thing.  So perhaps May needs to be a month of moderation with the baking and comfort foods.  I think we are probably all settling into the fact that our immediate future is not able to be easily planned.  We are all "rolling with the punches" and just seeing what happens each day and each week.  I think I would like to continue to reverse my trend and remain working on losing the COVID-19.  It is a goal anyway.

I have a ton of photos to go through and a few photo books to be made.  May is looking to be getting full so that one might have to be moved to June. June's list can wait!

May, as we all know, is the month when we celebrate our Mothers. (Don't forget! I say to myself...) It is also the month that has one of our busier outdoor holidays with Memorial Day.  Hopefully we will be able to get together with friends and family and have an appropriately distanced gathering!    

All in all, quite a few things to look forward to.  So I say, bring on the next 40 and let's see what develops by then!

Week 6 - Day 39: 31st Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

Good Morning Friends and Family!  The bad weather that was looking like it was going to hit us never really developed yesterday - for that we are all grateful.  Mother Nature should be kind and realize that CV PLUS TORNADOs is just wrong!    Hoping it peeters out for everyone else east of us today!

On the lighter side today...

Do you have a favorite Candy?  Do you even eat Candy?  There have been quite a few shows, mostly documentaries, on this topic.

• History Channel's Modern Marvels featured Candy making.  Not sure I would buy the DVD's - but certainly interesting to watch if they show it again.
• UK Created Mini-series on one of their infamous chocolatiers - "Willie" Harcourt-Cooze.  The series goes into his exploitation of Venezuela in the making of his chocolate in the UK.  A follow-up was done as well.  Due to his name - the first series was called "Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory".
• "The Chocolate Wars" was a made for TV movie on HBO and looks at the high dollar battle between the Hershey and M&M Mars company.  This was pretty interesting I thought.
• "Candyman" is the story of David Klein AKA Mr. Jelly Belly.  Goes into how he came up with the flavors and built this company... only to be exiled before it turned into the billion dollar industry that it is.

For me - I favor chewy candies.  I have torn more than I cap off a tooth eating things like taffy and caramel based chocolates. Hand-made Taffy and Caramels top my list of all time favorites.  Whenever I travel east in the summer I am a sucker for the places that make their own taffy. I will always want to stop.

In the boxed candy category I definitely like Hot Tamales (Hot Cinnamon) and Good and Plenty (Black Licorice). On the chocolate side of boxed Candy it would be Milk Duds.  

Seasonally, I love Cadbury mini eggs - the ones that come out at Easter time - in the bagged category. Candy coated Chocolate (not the big eggs filled with goo.) Those things are chocolate crack! Many types of M&M's are good, but I can take them or leave them most of the time.    

In a bar, looking at Heath, Butterfinger and my new favorite from Canada also made by Cadbury - the Crunchie.  Why is that not a mainstream candybar in the states??

And overall, I have a love affair with Black Licorice.  I love to try varieties I have not had before from stores that get it in from all around the world.  Triple salted is out though... and double salted only in small amounts.  It is an interesting contrast if you like black licorice but have never tried them.

I have told you mine... Now tell me yours!

Week 6 - Day 38: 30th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

It is middle of the week already.  Dallas County Shelter in Place is now on Day 30.  Been home bound 38 days... Wowzer.  That is the longest I have stayed in one state in quite some time.  In fact, I think maybe it has been about 6 or 7 years. Or more.  While our elected officials in Texas feel this way: "...there are more important things than living..." I must say I disagree wholeheartedly with that statement.  I found it shocking the first time it was said, and even more shocking that he reiterated that he was right about it.  Almost every single plan I have in my future hinges on the key factor of my being alive!  I bet your plans, whatever they may be, do too.  So I agree with the masses who are already saying "Go ahead and lift the bans, we are still not coming!"  I am jumping on that bandwagon.

A haircut is not important.  Working out at a gym is not important.  Getting a tattoo is not important. Having my nails done is not important.  Shopping is not important (and we have learned how to do that one online quite well).  What is important is continuing to avoid this thing, until there is a vaccination available.  It is important to not infect my older relatives and family members unwittingly.  It is important to NOT spike up the hospital admits because I insisted on one of these non-important things.

My heart goes out to the people in these "non-essential" industries.  People who are hard working and are struggling right now in every way.  I hope for every one of them that their friends and family and communities are bonding together to help, and sacrificing to try and make a difference with their people. 

Lots of informal surveys have been done about social distancing... a frequent question I see asked is "What are you finding the hardest?"  Inevitably, in the top 5 answers are these two: 1) missing human contact/touch and 2) spending time in the same presence as those we love.  This task is universally difficult for most.  Our only population who likely are not affected  or affected less, are the people we consider to be hermits.  People who by choice practice social isolation.  I know a few of these and they are mostly like - no big deal!  Right now, I think they are lucky in some ways.

I desire for life to not be hampered by rules and regulations.  I think we all do.  But I also desire to be alive. I desire to be able to hug my peeps and family close.  I really want to hang out and share a meal together and tell stories to each other in person.  Yet until we can safely move about, I will remind myself every day that this is a temporary inconvenience. And I will seek out new and creative ways to let the people I love know I love them, and I miss them, and I cannot wait until I can hang out with them again... 

...Alive and in person.

Week 6 - Day 37: 29th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

WARNING: This is a bit of a free-form ramble on travel, maps, and favorites

What is your favorite "green space" you have ever visited in the continental United States?  We have a vast and wondrous nation... but many people never leave the state that they were born in. I have had the good fortune to travel for myself and travel for my job.  During these travels I have seen all 50 states now.  I am moving on to checking off the National Parks.  That is going a bit slow!!

I do love to travel.  And I love maps.  (I have a friend in Arizona that loves maps even more than I love maps.)  When I was little, we went someplace every few years.  We also went to our grandparents house in Arkansas.  We never lived in Arkansas so that was always a major trip.  

I loved to hold the map book as we traveled and trace our route as we traveled through the states.  I would study it at length (because what else did I have to do - kind of like now!) and learned to understand how exits were marked.  I learned that there were different symbols for rest stops.  I learned to look for things coming up like parks and lakes and bridges. I was never more excited than when my Uncle Raymond, who worked for State Farm, gave me my OWN State Farm map book.  Then I did not have to share when we were on trips, primarily with my mother - as she loves maps too.

Not only could I trace the places we were going, but I could figure out distances to places I wanted to go.  For me, it was seriously entertaining while stuck in the car.  Little did I know what a great skill it would be to have as an adult to be able to navigate via a map.

Now we have cell phones - we punch in where we are going and it tells us every little turn.  Not nearly as much fun, and you do not learn much.  When planning a trip via a map, you can see places you may want to stop that are not too far off your chosen path.  You can also see "other paths" you may want to take that while extending your time, allow you to perhaps have a better view, or explore more of the world if you are not in a hurry.

If you have kids right now, and you have access to a Road Atlas type map, planning your first trip when this is over could be fun... They could trace the route onto paper and then color and draw things they might see along the way.  Lots of cool things to learn with maps.

So my favorite "green space" in the US also has alot of blue.  It is Lake Tahoe, NV.  I am not quite sure why this space speaks to me so.  I think it is the rising up of the mountains right next to the deep  blue of the water that is so vast and so deep.  This lake has been protected for years, so it is amazing and clear and beautiful - like the lakes you see in Northern Michigan and Minnesota.  I love every season there - and they have all four.  It is vastly different for each of them.  It is a place I return time and again.

I am still exploring though, and I may find a new favorite one of these days... But I would love to hear what yours are!  

Week 6 - Day 36: 28th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

The weekend ended and we start another week.  For some of us, that means back to our offices in our bedrooms, kitchen tables, living rooms, and maybe even for some, a "real" office that does not double as another room in the house.  For others, it means another unwanted week off of work wondering what is going to happen, and asking when they too will return to the workforce.  The stress of it all is real... so be kind to those you live with... and kind to yourself too.  It goes a long way.

This weekend I managed to replace my tripod in hopes that I could use a huge zoom lense that I have.  The lense has to be manually focused and that forces me to have to use a tripod.  It also requires the need to practice with it if I ever hope to get some good pictures.  I think animals are going to be out of the question as subjects.  They just will not sit still.

I did manage using other lenses to get some photos of some of the birds and creatures that come to the oasis Renee T. (my housemate) has created for them.

First off - we have the Blue Jays.  They tend to be kind of mean to the other animals and tend to like to have the feeding table all to themselves.  This guy came down and took a bad.  This is his ruffled head  afterwards.

The variety of color in their wings is simply amazing!

Next one of my personal favorites - the Cardinals.  I can recognize their chirps in the trees so I know when they are nearby.  They are timid - so if they see me move in the house or in the yard they disappear quickly.  I do not see them on the feeding table with the Blue Jays hardly at all.

They can be found feeding off the ground much more frequently than the Blue Jays.





They like to come down and get a drink... after making sure everything is clear from a perch on the fence.  I have not seen one "bathe" yet.  Perhaps she likes more privacy!






Next we have at least one family of squirrels.  I am making this up, but based on behavior I have dubbed one the poppa, one the momma, and TODAY I say a baby squirrel playing.  That entire sequence will be last as I am just going to show the highlights, as I took them, on sports mode.

The squirrels are willing to eat communally as long as no one bothers them too much.  The Blue Jays are about the only ones that will stay on the table for any length of time with them.  This is poppa squirrel.

Momma can be seen trucking in much later.  Presumably she has been attending to the family and has other concerns to take care of besides stuffing her face.













She will definitely pick up more off the ground and waits to head up until she has picked up everything that has fallen.  She is a little more skittish than he is (he will stay right there when I open the back door - she runs).



Joy of joys today - I finally saw a baby squirrel - I could tell he was a baby because a) he was smaller and b) (OMG THE CUTENESS) he was playing.  I turned the camera back on sport mode so I could just snap entire sequences of him doing dives and flips and what not.  So enjoy his movements - this all occurred in about 2 minutes.

This so made me SMILE and laugh as I sorted through them.
I left these a little larger so you can see his face.

That's a wrap folks - Have a great Monday!

Weekend Countdown - Day 35: 27th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

This photography edition features my cat Aslan Jr., who is no longer with us.  Aslan was adopted from a shelter in Collin County.  When we went to pick him up, we thought we were picking up a female orange tabby, since that is what the ad said.  Instead, it was a male.  While we were in the facility meeting him, we noted he had a pretty badly wounded tail.  That wound ending up sealing the deal for us because the shelter was known to put down animals that needed vet care above and beyond shots, because they just did not have the funding to do anything else.

So we brought him home to join the group of  6 that we already had.

I was super partial to this cat as years before I had had another orange tabby that I loved - Aslan Sr.  He was a wild, unpredictable, lovable animal that I had gotten from a waitress who rescued him and his siblings from a trash heap my first year out of college.  Aslan Jr. appeared to be from the same mold as Sr. was.  

He was constantly getting into trouble and doing the most unpredictable things (like climbing my ladder and hanging out while I was painting!) I snapped a lot of pictures of him over the years, but I loved to catch him sleeping. That boy could sleep anywhere at anytime.

We had him about a month before we realized the reason for that - he was deaf!  Totally deaf and so he could and would sleep whenever he felt tired... did not matter what else was going on around him - he would just curl up someplace safe - like a box.  Or sprawl out across whatever I was trying to do (usually work).

His most endearing quality though was his desire to be touching me while he slept.  I have many awkward selfies of him sleeping on one arm and leg while trying to take a selfie with my free hand... providing I had my phone nearby.  But a foot was good too...

Over his short life that I had him, he was the source of many laughs, great joy, and much comfort.  He was also very expensive as he chewed through no less than a dozen phone charging cords, and broke countless items that were shoved off of high and low places.  Nothing was safe on a shelf if he could reach it.  I had a sizable investment in earthquake paste, and eventually glassed in shelving for anything I wanted to keep safe from his love of watching things fall.

Thanks for browsing my sleeping edition of Aslan.  I will do a "Hey mom, look where I am" edition when I round up the photos!  Have a restful, peace filled day.

Weekend Countdown - Day 34: 26th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

Another weekend has arrived... But the news from the last 48 hours has both dampened my spirits and angered my soul.  The level of irresponsibility across the nation with the people of our nation as well as our elected leaders is frightful.  The callousness to the need to preserve life, and the willingness to sacrifice untold numbers is beyond scary to me.

And I know I am not just "saying that".  I had the worst night of sleep I have had since this thing started.  I had covid dreams all night long.  I would wake up for a few minutes, re-arrange my pillows, close my eyes, and my brain would just go right back to it with a different twist.  When that happens, I know my brain is on overload trying to make sense of things and trying to figure out "the answer".  That is how my brain operates.

Since it was on my mind when I woke up, I turned on CNN to catch the latest news.  Well that was a bad idea.  There is really no good news right now.  Nothing that is uplifting to my spirit and soul.  Nothing that makes me feel more positive about the direction we are heading.  Nothing that provides hope in a time of great despair.  So turned that S%*! off. 

The way that I fight these types of personal demons is to create... to be productive... to find purpose.  And that is what I will do this weekend.  I am not much of one to wallow in despair and allow depression to set in too far.  I will create something, fix something, or read something interesting.  I will strive to find what I need to do to Live Sincerely today.

I did finish my first puzzle last night.  I have the puzzle from hell on the opposite end of the table.  So far I have connected two pieces.  Really. In 3 weeks. It is a photomosaic and I apparently need new glasses as I cannot see the pieces well enough to do this puzzle.  Moving my office light to the game room so I can see.  Maybe that will help.

I look forward to this ending, even if life looks a little different when it does.  I look forward to visits with my friends and family.  I look forward to resuming travel and seeing the world - experiencing other cultures, and foods, and the unique customs of the people there. My bucket list may be growing as I have more time to look and read and learn.  I most of all look forward to getting back to the ocean and diving... my love affair with that is not fading - it just grows stronger.

Have a great weekend friends. 

Week 5 Countdown - Day 33: 25th Day of Dallas County Shelter in Place

Yesterday as I was flipping through Facebook I kept seeing this quote - and it was attributed to Brene Brown, when it actually was spoken by Sonya Renee Taylor.

We know this now because Brene Brown herself yesterday tweeted that these words are not hers in this tweet:

I thought the quote was incredibly powerful when I read it - and I still do - even if Brene Brown did not say it.  But her tweet took me in an entirely different direction for today's post.

"Attribution matters." ~ Brene Brown 4/16/2020

At a time when information floods the airways, what is our role and responsibility in making sure that if we choose to pass something on, that we make sure that piece of information is true and accurate?  Are we irresponsible when we do not 'fact check" each and every item that we choose to relay again?

At the very least should we add a disclaimer that we have NOT Fact Checked what we are pandering to our friends and family?

Brene Brown is a researcher from Texas and has spent a good part of her career studying Vulnerability, Shame, Empathy and Courage. You can learn more about her history on Wikipedia if interested. Wikipedia - Brene Brown.  She has done a number of Ted Talks and written numerous books as well as Audio Books.  Last year after a friend of mine had me watch her Ted Talk on vulnerability, I bought her Audio Book "The Power of Vulnerability" which has been a spectacular and eye opening book to listen to.    In summary, I am very impressed with her ability to research something, and then work it through and relay back to her audience what is key in it all.  She has a gift.  I am thinking that she likely has A LOT of her own words regarding what is going on in the world right now.

The fact that she did not allow beautiful and poignant words to be passed around as hers, when they were not.  Just impressed me even more.  

So who is the woman who did speak these words?  According to Wikipedia Sonya Renee Taylor "is an author, poet, spoken word artist, speaker, humanitarian and social justice activist, educator, and founder of The Body is Not An Apology movement."  I had not heard of her prior to seeing this quote on Facebook.  But she is definitely someone I am going to read more about.  She has the ability to put together words in a way that are exceedingly powerful.

From her quote - the part that really spoke to me and caught my eye was this:
"We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment.  One that fits all of humanity and nature." ~ Sonja Renee Taylor, 2020

On those words I leave you all for the day and I am off to work! Happy Friday.