first time using autotype

this is my first time to try to write a post using audio. It is because I am pretty much a basket case, since my dear sweet husband passed away one week ago today.

 I realize that there may be problems with this post, but I truly want to tell you how much I loved that man and that he loved me. He was doing fairly well, in the new rehab center. But he was unable to clear his throat when he aspirated. I was not there, and I cannot imagine that this was an easy passing. But it doesn’t matter, he is gone, he is gone, he is gone. My sister has been here with me for the last few days, and it has been invaluable to have her assistance. My eyes have taken a turn for the absolute worst and now I can see very little. I will be taking the transit bus that Ben used, and I am looking for someone to help me to finish moving his things. But it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t need to be done tomorrow. I cannot imagine it being any harder for anyone than it has been for me to go through this. I will have a lot of empathy for others as they move through grief. I don’t know when I will post again, but it doesn’t really matter much to me anymore. I love my virtual family very much, but they’re just gonna have to wait until I am better. I am not well enough to do this again soon. 

He is gone

 Lee Ben Daniels (Skratch nickname)

1942 to 2026

Good bye sweet partner

Rehab Center

Three days ago

I am telling everyone that my eyesight has begun to deriorate significantly in the past few days because I am getting almost no sleep and am in the throes of anxiety over the fate of SG. Today we were able to finally move him from the hospital to the Avalon Rehab center. This picture was taken three days ago, and he is not in better shape now.

I slept only three hours a night ago, but last night my body gave up seven hours. But my eyesight has gotten worse after all the stress. Maybe it will get better again, but I really don't know.

I did manage to get him over to Avalon Rehab Center this morning, out of the hospital,but the rehab center is, well, shabby and disappointing. He is in a bed in a small room with a roomate and a bed that has no side rails, so hen must deal with his disability without much help. But he is finallyout of the hospital and has much healing ahead of him.

Tomorrow I will bring a charter for his phone and a couple pillows that might help cope. I will do my best to get him comfortable and get enough sleep tonight myself. It's a very trying time indeed.

Space Dust

Elysian Space Dust IPA beer

A few months ago, I notice some big trucks had shown up on the streets of Bellingham, with the moniker of Elysian Brewpub on the side. They were advertising a beer I had never heard above before, and I did a little digging and found out about this brewery, based in Seattle, that has been around since 2015. How did a new IPA come out and I missed it?

There are so many local breweries in my part of the country, especially around Seattle and the Pacific Northwest in particture. I guess I'm not the only one who likes her beer a little hoppy on the side, bitter but not puckery. I was once an afionado of dark beer, bur once I discovered IPAs, my tastes began to change.

The Elysian Brewing Company has apparently been around for longer than that: I found this information online:

Three-time Large Brewpub of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival, Elysian Brewing Company operates four neighborhood restaurants and a production brewery in Seattle, Washington. Known both for classic styles and for flexibility and innovation, Elysian has brewed over 350 different recipes since opening in 1996. While Elysian’s brewers use a variety of unusual ingredients, they are seasonally notorious for their pumpkin beers. Each year Elysian hosts the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival, where dozens of different pumpkin beers are poured, some of them from giant pumpkins.

 Well, just for grins, I tried a little of the pumpkin variety and thought it was truly awful. I think, for now, I'll just stick to IPAs. Have you ever tried pumpkin beer?

(smile)

Today's snowdrops

Taken February 10, 2026

After showing those wonderful crocuses last week, I put on my winter puffy jacket to explore my nextdoor neighbor's snowdrop collection to share with you. It's a sunny day, with bright blue skies and a bit of a cold breeze, but this is what I saw. Just gorgeous white flowers that sure do look a lot like snowdrops, don't you think?

Every day we gain more daylight and are a little bit closer to the vernal equinox on March 20, now just a wee bit more than a month away. I truly do hope we have a moderate spring and summer and leave the other parts of the country to deal with the extremes. We usually are blessed in this area with moderate temperatures, but with the world turning a little topsy-turvy, who knows for sure?

It's beginning to take more time on my part to write these posts, since my eyesight continues to fail and it gets harder and harder to find the right keys. I struggle with frustratioh. If I didn't have my two days of service at the Senior Center lunchroom, I might find it even harder to cope with these current difficulties. I serve some people who are completely blind and rely on their partners to help. This is probably the best thing I could have done to help me keep perspective on losing these faculties myself. My central vision is going away, but my peripheral vision is better than ever.

Not to mention all the grateful thank you's and pats on the back that I get every single day. When I am lining up the endless number of walkers along the wide wall, I am so glad that I still have the ability to walk without assistance. When the time comes when I need one, I will have already learned all the tricks. Life is a delightful learning experience.

(smile)

Making up for lost time, it's raining

So pretty!

I went looking in my photo gallery for a picture of snowdrops, which are just now beginning to pop out of the ground. But instead, I decided to use this lovely picture of crocus, taken in February a while back, and I was mesmerized by the beautiful purple color, my favorite shade, too.

Do you have a favorite color? And, if so, are you still a fan? When I was a young girl, I remember admiring pinks and purples and noticing the way they shimmered in the sunlight, as opposed to brown and grey colors. But I've never been keen to wear red or orange, which I now associate with old people.

Somehow, I became one of them while I wasn't paying attention, and I realize that I sitll don't wear or look much at those colors. Of course, losing my central vision and losing the ability to appreciate detail has also dimmed my enthusiasm for vibrant colors, and the happy days I spent with coloring books ane crayons. My sister and I spent many hours cutting out and designing dresses for our dolls. Alas, it has fallen away. 

I don't know if I dreamt much last night, but I met John at the coffee shop, and asked him to let me out halfway to my home, so I could listen to a podcast but not have a long way to walk. It's dry once again, after lots of rain.

I allow myself one 12-oz beer a day these days, which sometimes seems like not enough, but it really is. Now I am quaffing the last of it, and getting ready to sign off. Hope you're doing well.

(smile)

Two dry weeks, plus

New Years Day, a few years back

Looking, as usual, for a picture to start out my Tuesday post. Now that I am not hiking with the Trailblazers, I don't have a lot of new scenery to post, but that doesn't really matter, since I have gone to all those places many times over. I found this one in my collection, that's John and me at our old hangout, Avellino's. Now we meet and quaff our coffee at Adagio's, just down the street, but vastly superior in quality. I sometimes miss the people but I much prefer the ambience of the new place.

The picture is more than six years ago, and I think we both look pretty similar to how we look today, except we are missing a few sparkles, which we put in the scene via a spiffy app that no longer exists for such things. Sigh. Things change, but I laughed when I saw this picture and realize I am wearing the SAME SHIRT today. Nobody can say I don't get maximum wearability out of my wardrobe, eh?

I need to say something to my faithful virtual family about the comments on my earlier Sunday blog. Some people posted comments about the second killing that transpired in Minneapolis this past Saturday, after aother earlier one a couple weeks back. Yes, I follow the news and knew about them both, and I cried and felt awful about the killings. I try to keep a positive outlook and attitude and not use my blogs to express my feelings about what is happening. One of my faithful long-time readers expressed her opinion about it, and some other commenters were outraged and said so. I am sorry this spilled over onto my post, but I simply don't have any knowledge of the event to make any sort of public opinion. I have my belief, but that's all I have. And  I do march in solidarity with like-minded citizens at times, but at my age, it's not all that often or all that long. I have lost enough sleep worrying about current events and the country's direction, and the only one who gets personally upset about it all, here anyway, is me. I truly want to experience harmony and peace, that's my goal.

How about you? Do you have any magic way to keep yourself feeling serene? If so, can you share it?

Chilly and sunny, still

Two babes and two beers

I spent a wonderful afternoon with my friend Lily on Sunday this past weekend. It is her last day off for a couple of weeks, so I was very happy she decided to spend it with me. She asked me where I wanted to have lunch, and since it had been a long time since I went to Greene's Corner, she agreed. The important part (for me) was the opportunity to have a good craft beer. She likes porter, which she enjoyed, and I had a Hazy IPA, which I also enjoyed. After we had our beer and pizza, we went out for a walk at Boulevard Park, where I had walked the previous day with Steve. 

It was still very cold, and that continues today. After so many days of sunshine and clear weather, I am ready to return to our usual overcast skies and much warmer temperatures. I think by the end of the week, we will be returning to warmth and rain. I hope I can remember to keep myself upright if it gets slippery. I'll be carrying my shoe spikes, which do no good at all in my pack, but they are there if I need them. I am able to walk and do my exercises much easier these days. It's been almost a year now since that disastrous fall on the ice, and I tend to slow way down when I think it might be slippery at all.

I have a favorite beer that I keep stocked here at home, and I am no longer feeling bad about having a single 12-ounce beer every day. That is one aspect of growing older; what is wrong with enjoying something like that, if it gives me pleasure (it does). My numbers are good, quite good for an elderly person, and I have already lived a full life and deserve to enjoy a bit of the bubbly, right?

Yesterday I got my chills and thrills by driving less than a mile from my home to the home of my hairdresser. It has been a long time since I felt confident enough to drive that far, and it reminded me of the days when I was a skydiver, and I'd be excited and a little scared as I drove to the Drop Zone, knowing I'd be jumping out of airplanes soon. Now, just getting behind the wheel of a car and driving somewhere gives me quite a thrill. I am safe and slow and feel a little sorry for any drivers who get behind me, because I am driving well below the speed limit, scanning to the left and right and making sense of what I am seeing. It must be sunny and clear, with minimal traffic, for me to venture out. I did forget about the sun setting so early, but I made it home without having to deal with the brilliant sunshine in my eyes as it sets. 

I will take a yoga class again tomorrow, but I will get there and home via bus. At some point in the near future, I will be giving up my car, hopefully without any incidents making that day come earlier than I am ready for. I am feeling pretty confident, as I watch my sweet partner recover from his elbow injury and spend his days going to places using the Para-Transit system. Then Thursday and Friday I will enjoy my volunteer duties (now that I am no longer employed). They seem to come around way faster. Hope you're having good weather wherever you are and whatever that means to you.

(smile)

Curious number indeed

What's in a number?

The other day I began to wonder if there is anything special about the number "83," since I recently began my 84th trip around the sun when I turned 83. I asked SG (who has always been clued in to mathematics) if he knows of anything special about the number 83. "Well, it's a prime number, for one." I know that prime numbers are only divisible by 1, or themselves, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Years ago, however, I read a novel that sparked my interest in autism and prime numbers, The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night-Time is a book (now also a play) very much, and I read it twice. It was subsequently turned into a play. (Sorry I cannot make that link work. Check it out on Amazon.)

It also sparked my interest in autism, since the protagonist is a teenage boy with high-functioning autism. The author (Mark Haddon) ended up writing the book from the boy's perspective (Christopher) and I was immediately curious myself about this condition. I'm pretty sure I have known people who are "on the spectrum," as they say, and I think I have at times been a little envious of someone having the possibility to evoke such incredible focus.

I have since learned that most cases of autism are genetically caused, but lately there has been much controversy about it. I think in a few more years, we will know much more about the condition. But back to the main focus of this post, that number. From an AI Overvuew link:

The number 83 is the 23rd prime number, a Sophie Germain prime, and the atomic number for bismuth; it signifies creativity in numerology, appears in biblical contexts (like Moses at age 83), and is used in sports jerseys, with its Roman numeral being LXXXIII.

It is also a "Super-Prime" becaused it is the 23rd prime number, which is also a prime. And there is plenty of places that the number appears in religious texts and stories. I don't think of this will make a difference in my experience of it, but gosh, it's fascinating, don't you think?

A new day is upon us

 You are just going to have to imagine the picture that I have spent most of the day trying to get from my iPhone to my laptop, since they are not just cooperating. But here's the story: today SG took the Paratransit bus (a mini sort of bus, part of the WTA transit system) to his doctor's appointment to decide what they would be doing with his broken elbow. It turned out extremely well: once he got there, via the bus, he saw the orthopedic surgeon, thinking he would be having to endure an operation. But the doctor said he can resume baby pushups like he did before the accident in just a few more weeks. So, that was wonderful news. And he can use the system for trips to and from doctor's appointments for the next three years, no charge! That is, other than the $60 annual fee to belong to the Senior Center.

So, as you can imagine, we are thrilled that we are coming along with our various and sundry problems, hoping for a happier time in our immediate future. Sorry this post is so short, but I am wanting to climb into bed and start a new, better day tomorrow.

I might try just a little longer to get a picture for you. But if I don't succeed, you can use your imagination until sometime later. 

(smile)

The New Year is a-comin

Elegant frozen posie (posey)

When I logged on here for my monthly FaceTime post with my sister Norma Jean, just a short time ago, I realized that it has been a month, enough time to start the healing process of losing a beloved pet. But in many ways I realize that it's just begun. I didn't see him every day, but I knew that sweet soul very well, having visited many times over the years. His presence was constant and taken for granted in so many ways. But, inevitably, as happens with our furry friends, they leave before we are ready to say goodbye.

During the holidays, our losses compound themselves and join with the dark skies and short days, with the light seeming distant. Those of us who have been around long enough to know that it's just part of the cycle of life and death, still feel it very strongly and look forward to the light and love returning.

Norma Jean seems to be doing very well, all thing considered, and I think I am also doing quite well, all things considered. Tomorrow is the final day of this year, with another one being born and, hopefully, bringing us lots of delightful surprises, of the good kind. Feeling happy to be a part of the universe right now.

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)

November is here

Favorite tree in full color

 Yesterday when John dropped me off at Cornwall Park and I took my usual route home, I saw that my favorite maple tree has finally turned color. When I walked past it on October 20 and took a picture, the leaves were lighter but not one had gained any color. Not so yesterday: I was thrilled that I was able to capture the tree now, before we get an expected windstorm with lots of rain. A typical scenario that leads to the loss of many of these beautiful colorful leaves.

Today I also drove the few blocks to my usual hairstylist. It had been almost two months since my last cut, and I was more than a little desperate for relief. I also asked her to cut it a little shorter in the back, since it seems like no time at all before it's hanging off my collars. It's just right, but it sure seems like my hair grows faster in the cooler weather. But maybe it's just that I don't notice it as much. Frankly, I can no longer see what it looks like from the mirror; all I can see it the vague outline of the new cut. Very disappointing to be losing my sight like this, but what can be done about it? I can still see well enough to walk to the bus, write these posts, and basically do my volunteer activities at the Senior Center. For now, I am quite happy with my life and physical condition.

Tomorrow I have my weekly yoga class at the Senior Center. I look forward to it every week and am glad the class is in the morning. I could go to the Monday session, too, but it doesn't even start until 2:00 pm and considering the bus ride, I would be coming home in the dark, now that we are back on Pacific Standard Time.

So, here I am settling into my favorite easy chair and feeling the lack of a beer. Forgot to check whether that little treat would be available; I'll be just fine without it,  but instead I'll find something to enjoy, like lemonade. Life is good right now.

(smile)

Spooky days are here again

My downstairs neighbor awhile ago

I am not sure when the person who lived right downstairs from us moved out, but he was there long enough for me to enjoy his seasonal decorations for a few years. I think he grew those pumpkins in his plot in the community garden some of us shared. I no longer plant anything in it, as I got very tired of all the slugs getting first dibs on the best vegetables. I tried to make them drink beer out of shallow containers, because I learned that they love beer and would drown themselves in it. But it still seemed like a lot of work and frustration, and finally after years of all kinds of tricks, I gave up. I have shared the beer trick with others, some of whom swear by it.

As I am aging, I notice that I am more choosy about how I spend my time, and have given up many activities that I once thought were simply part of me and wouldn't ever stop. Until I began to lose my eyesight, and as it has continued to slip away, I have found other things that give me pleasure. Fortunately, I can still write and read blogs, which will eventually leave me, so I am taking advantage every day that I can see well enough to create and post these missives. Even when I have little to write about. I can still read books on my Kindle, but it's a lot of work to get through a complete novel or memoir (my two favorites), so that also is curtailed. 

I am still able to volunteer in the lunch room at the Senior Center, so that has helped to keep me socially active. Some of my best friends these days work with me, and we share the lunch room duties. I can also take the bus to my yoga class across town, and I've grown familiar with the route and the drivers. I feel a part of my community in ways that I cherish every day.

John, me, Michelle and Gene

This morning's picture was taken at the coffee shop today, when my usual coffee shop partner John invited Michelle and Gene to join us. Gene is in mourning for his long-time girlfriend, Paula, who died this week in her late eighties. He cared for her daily during the last few months, and I had heard that she was dying. I just didn't know her well enough to visit, but it was wonderful to see Gene again and tell stories we remembered about Paula. Michelle flew into Bellingham from her home on the West Coast to support Gene.

The three of them decided to go to a local restaurant for breakfast, but I declined and took the bus home. I'm glad I did, because it began to rain and I wasn't dressed for it. I am once again feel with happiness because of all the wonderful people who surround me with love. Gratitude abounds.

:-)