Christmas week

Goodies at the food bar

I went looking for some goodies in my pictures and found this one, taken at the place we were staying while in Istanbul a decade ago. I can almost remember the taste of a few of them. They were definitely "Turkish delights" and exceedingly abundant and fattening. I was on vacation, though, and allowed myself some latitude in my food choices. Just for a little while, though: I can also remember how I felt afterwards: not good. My desire for sweets is modified by how they just don't agree with me, once they are out of my mouth and movenational national cent4er into my stomach.

I am devastatded by what is happening to my old place of employment, the National Center for Atmospheric Research. From AI overview:

The Trump administration plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, citing "climate alarmism" and "Green New Scam" research, intending to move vital functions like weather modeling and supercomputing elsewhere, sparking widespread scientific and political backlash over risks to weather forecasting, disaster preparedness, and climate research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a restructuring, focusing on severe storms and space weather, while exploring transfers for its supercomputer and research aircraft, a move scientists warn will set back U.S. science. 

I worked there for thirty years and was a part of the most wonderful and exciting science that I could even imagine. I never thought this might happen, and yes I am incredibly saddened by much of what is happening in the world today. 

I was in Istanbul, along with scientists from all over the world, to examine how climate change is altering our environment. NCAR paid for us to be there, and all I can say is that I am glad I got to be there and experience the best and the brightest scientists in their natural settings. Soon it will be gone. It's simply heartbreaking.

💔💔💔💔💔

More awful weather, another hard week

Mushrooms galore

One thing that happens when it gets this wet in the Pacific Northwest is a bonanza of mushrooms, of many kinds. They are everywhere out in the forests, and we get to enjoy seeing many varieties pop up, almost like magic. They are there, all the time, and all they need is a little (or even a lot) of moisture.

We have been having an incredible amount of rain. After four inches last week with the atmospheric river, this week we are having yet another one. We expect at least two more inches of rain to fall today and tomorrow. Plus tonight we are expecting very strong winds that will continue for hours, probably producing power outages. SG has filled many jugs and pails of water for drinking in case we lose power and cannot get any clean water from our faucets for any length of time. 

SG has been doing extremely well with just using one arm, as his broken elbow has become somewhat usable, if he holds it carefully next to his body and doesn't put any external pressure on it. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was out of the woods. But his doctor now wants him to get another x-ray, which is problematic, since he can't drive and I shouldn't, since I can't see very well any more. In full sunlight in the middle of the day, I can navigate in familiar places, but I don't try unless it's truly needed. He will probably need surgery, but we won't know that for awhile.

My friend John has offered to drive him to the imaging center, and he has been helping us get groceries as we need them. We will get through this, I know we will, but it's been so hard. We are no longer young and strong, so everything takes longer and becomes difficult at times. My tolerance for this kind of stress has diminished considerably.

However, because of all the rain, we are surrounded by communities that have been evacuated. The entire Skagit Valley is underwater, and I fear for the tulip festival we enjoy every April. But we have some time between now and then, and I'm hoping for the best. At least we are not needing to evacuate and probably will be able to weather this period with the help of friends and having each other. And I will be able to get to my volunteer work at the Senior Center this week, which always raises my spirits. I will keep you posted.

(smile)

Staying above water

A winter view of Bellingham Bay

We, here in the Pacific Northwest, are in the midst of a strong atmospheric river, coming up from Hawaii, sometimes called a "Pineapple Express" because of it. We have had several inches of rain already, but we here are not getting the worst of it. Many places south of us have gotten much more rain, with subsequent mudslides and rivers overflowing their banks. Right now we are having a short respite, but tomorrow we are supposed to get many more inches of rain, right here in Bellingham (I started to say, "right here in River City," but considering our wet situation, it didn't seem appropriate.

But mainly I am managing to take everything in stride. Yesterday I got my first massage in six weeks, and it was really helpful. I slept for over nine hours last night, restful and dreamless sleep. Tomorrow I will take a bus to the new Senior Center for a yoga class, which also helps me immeasurably. Both my guy and I signed up again for the same health coverage we had last year; it covers the new medication his doctor will be putting him on, so we are happy about that. Hopefully he will tolerate it with few side effects. It's a monthly shot, rather than daily pills. (It's more expensive, but what isn't?)

A long-time friend has gifted me with a Jacque Lawson Advent Calendar that I access daily and enjoy it tremendously. I spend hours every day with it, playing games, puzzles, and looking for a different elf every day hiding in the landscape. It portrays a winter wonderland in England and is filled with delights.

I still have to get all my bills paid and spend some time doing useful stuff online, but I tend to put that off in order to play on the laptop. I have two blogs I write each week, this one and the Sunday one, so here it is, my Tuesday ruminations. Hope you're having a good time wherever you are living. I think I've almost had my fill of rain, but at least it's warm.

(smile)

Birthday celebration

Threesome at Scotty Brown's

 These two lovely ladies treated me to a wonderful lunch at one of my favorite places to eat in Bellingham, Scotty Brown's. They said I could pick the place and do exactly what I wanted, before and after, and I chose this place because I know it so well. (It's where Lily and I usually end up when we eat out.) I enjoyed the Cowboy Salad and they had (Frankie) veggie burgers and (Michelle) fish tacos. I'm not someone who eats out often, but it seems like I've been doing a lot of it during Thanksgiving and the holidays, and we're just now getting started, with the entire month of December, probably mostly a celebration of food. On Saturday I enjoyed Korean food with my friend Steve, then Sunday and Monday were breakfast and lunch with my friend John. Today was the delightful meal with Frankie and Michelle. I certainly am not feeling hungry right now!

To top off the wonderful meal at Scotty's, we shared a dessert three ways, a super delicious chocolate and coffee ice cream delight. It was so big I wondered how in the world one person could eat so much, and the waitperson said it was a teeny big larger just for us. We were all groaning from the treat, and all of us figured we might have already consumed our day's calories. And then some, I suspect. Good thing this only comes around once a year, right?

Thank you, ladies!

Oh wait.... they have birthdays, too. Hopefully I'll be ready for the next one; Michelle's is at the end of the month. I'll take a deep breath and gird my loins...

(smile)

Thanksgiving is finally here

Such a pretty scene

I am beginning to have more problems writing on my laptop to make these posts work as well as they once did. The problems is that my eyes just don't want to work as well as I need them to. And I am in a bit of a denial about how bad my eyesight is getting. I only drive now in the middle of the day when the weather is perfectly sunny and it makes it possible to see some things more clearly. Grey skies and rain make it almost impossible, so I don't even try.

I forgot about this post until it was time for bed, meaning that my eyes have gotten more tired and everything is fuzzy. It doesn't help, either, when I have to back up and retype words because my fingers don't find the keys as easily, either. At least my eyes might not be working as well, but my brain still seems to be functioning, for the moment at least. My cognition is paramount to my belief that I can weather whatever happens to the rest of me. Isn't what I consider to be the "me" that I care most about?

I will be enjoying my holiday with my partner, and I can make almost anything feel worthwhile if I just keep on keeping on with whatever I have still working. I am going to finish this post early, so I can make my way to sleep.

(smile)

Of all the things that might have happened to me, this is the hardest to deal with: not having my ability to see well, but at least I can still be "me" in my daily life. I don't need a walker or any physical supports, but I do need more time to write and make a sensible post. This might not be what you were expecting, because I want to be positive so that these posts can lift me up, a well as my readers.

A new wrinkle

Another red maple

Almost all these pretty maple leaves are gone, since we have had days and days of rain and wind, with little letup. This picture was taken last week when we had a few hours of sunshine. And then the rain returned, and it hasn't left yet. Oh weil, it's the reason we are not inundated with massive numbers of new residents. No place seems to have everything just right all the time, does it? I'm happy with where we are living, and hope we can remain for as long as we need it.

A few days ago, I was minding my own business and turned in such a manner that I managed to do what we used to call "throw my back out." Just like that, for no reason I could recall, it started to hurt in a familiar spot in my lower back. Last winter, you might remember, I took a flying airborne leap when I slipped on the ice and landed on my back. I was laid up for days, if not weeks, but eventually it got better. This is in the same general area, the sacroiliac joint, and nothing I did this time seemed to make it stop hurting. It wasn't enough to take any medication, but I did stop my usual exercises. The Tibetan Rites, which I do every moorning, had to be modified just to be able to finish them. If you don't remember what they are, here's a little reminder. Most of the time I have no trouble doing them. For the first time in days, I am able to spend several hours without any residual pain. But if I arch my back to feel the spot, yep, it's still there.

I don't know for sure if the pain is serious, or if will get better on its own, or if it will join those little annoying body parts that continue to hurt and eventually force me to change or modify my routine. It's one of the side effects of aging, I suspect, that all of us who are fortunate to reach our eighties need to learn to embrace. Getting older happens, if we are one of the lucky ones. I have learned that keeping moving is important to retaining my mobility. When I first climb out of bed in the morning, I realize that my small initial steps are similar to those of a toddler. My confidence grows as I continue to take up my usual morning routine, and my steps become more like a normal elder takes. Life is quite an adventure, isn't it?

Hope you have a good week, and that you find some way to measure your continuing progress towards health and happiness. That's what I'm doing, too!

:-)

After the storm

Almost all the leaves gone

Yes, that picture I posted last week at this time shows the beautiful maple leaves on my favorite tree were pretty and mostly there. Today, when I went back by the tree, you can see that the windstorm and rain took almost all of them away. It's still looking pretty, but I'll be taking more pictures of the tree in the spring when the next generation of leaves emerges. And we start the annual cycle again.

It's a very pretty day today, with some sun and clouds, but no rain. Tomorrow and for the rest of the week, it starts again to give us lots of rain and a little breeze, too. I don't mind, especially when the temperatures are mild (in the fifties, mostly) and we don't yet need to deal with ice. That's ahead, but for now I had a lovely three-mile walk and enjoyed myself very much.

So far, my hip is behaving and not getting me any problems, so that's a real plus. I deliberated about whether to try the longer walk; I'm glad I did and found everything working properly. In less than a month, I'll be marking the passage of yet another year with a birthday, and being extremely happy that things are still hanging together in my old bones. I do, of course, have days when I'm dealing with discomfort, but as long as I pay attention and don't overdo it, I seem to be doing well.

Yesterday would have been my son Chris' birthday, reminding me that all those years ago (more than sixty) when I was getting ready to become a mother, it was a very different world: no mobile phones or television, just cloth diapers, wringer washers, and a rather rickety apartment where we lived. My husband at the time, Derald, was in the Air Force and we had a place away from the air base, surrounded by mostly Spanish speakers. We were living in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. We lived only a few blocks from the beach, and I remember tying strips of cloth together to make a sort of carrier for Chris. These days you can buy them, but back then they weren't even invented yet. Or, at least, not like the ones you see today. I'm sure I wasn't the first mother to strap an infant to her back, but I felt invincible and clever. I also learned quickly why you need to be able to take it off in a hurry.

It was a gentle time, however, and I have many good memories of those "salad" days when we had so little. We were healthy, happy, and everything we needed. 

And now the world is so chaotic and everything is interconnected. I'm glad I got to experience that life, but I prefer today's advantages. And the internet especially.

(smile)