Chickens & Climate Change

The first egg from Isa Red Pullets.

If we don't get some sunshine soon I may as well keep pigeons. According to their age and feathering--I expected the girls to start laying around Dec 25th. Finally got an egg last night, a full month later. In their defense it has been cloudy AF.  I guess the SPF is good? But I do worry about growth cycle of plants. I predict Michigan is gonna turn into mossy Seattle/Portland. Mild winters like the UK? YAY for bees! I guess. As long as I am fretting about the environment.  Let me rant about recycling.  

Last week "they" didn't pick up recycling AT ALL. I, of course tried to rationalize an excuse for shitty service; Covid=less drivers? Z phoned and they said they couldn't get it till regular day. OK. Let it go. 

HOWEVER--Once again, I am questioning the efficacy of this "service".  I want to trust them. I do not. I just watched the same truck dumb our carefully sorted recycling into the same truck, the same compartment as the garbage. Why do I bother sorting if their "single stream" just means landfill? Their webpage does not have easily accessible answers. I do not want to be placated. I want the shit to get recycled.  

 

I don't remember...

 what it is like to not be exhausted.

A Sunny Morning

Uncle Bernie and his awesome mittens.

They are perfect.

The palpable relief of knowing an adult is in charge. A sane, calm human who speaks in complete sentences. Thank Goodness. Poetry and songs, promises and a mighty To-Do List. Congrats Mme. VP!

 

LGRW!!

 I (and several other Wings Fans) have a superstition about washing jerseys. That, if on a winning streak, one does not wash the team colors.

Last year, almost immediately before lockdown, I had a fantastic bDay celly. I wore my favorite soft fan jersey. It has the old Cougers patch on the arm. It laces like an old school team sweater. I got a lil sumthin on it. Nothing like the coneyplopstain on my Mac jersey, but enough that, maybe it needed a wash. Despite storing all the happy bDay memories. SO...

They had a shit season last year...who had a good year last year really?

SO...

They lost their first game wherein Larkin got the "C".

SO...

It is in the wash-- bad luckBE GONE! so the boys can win tonight. #FERDA

Thursday, Jan14.21

 ~On Monday I played chauffeur for Ms Izzy and her eye checkup. She skipped 2019 because of living in Detroit for school. Her 2020 appt was just cancelled cuz COVID!PANIC!... so this year was pretty important. No change in her prescription but WOW has downtown changed. Vault moved some games upstairs. A2H&G is really different-- they added a wall and sectioned off a kitchen swag space. A lot happened in the 9mos I HAVEN'T BEEN DOWNTOWN. It was like a ghost town. I got new leashes for the doggos.

Speaking of dogs and Izzy. She embroidered a little "C"on Lark's RedWings bandanna because yesterday Stevie Y named Dylan Larkin-- Captain.  YAY! He deserves it.

~Let's see Tuesday was odd cuz Z was in an existential/political funk. Anxiety over the pending impeachment. He is usually so zen. Doomscrolling finally got under his skin. I think he just realized we are living history.

~Yesterday was Weds. Thank goodness that MF was impeached AGAIN. Donald Trump became the first US president to get impeached twice, after a House majority (including 10 Republicans) charged him yesterday with “incitement of insurrection.” Supposedly, the Senate trial won’t happen until after Joe Biden is sworn in. Trump will likely serve out his full term in office. I dunno...chaos theory

Finished the puzzle. Liberty Puzzles are amazing and this one was a 1945 map of California.

~Today is Thursday. Pete's day off. (whoopee.  #AnimalCrossing) I will be placing an online order for White Lotus Farms. OH! The Wings skate tonight! If  Chloe's recent test is negative (should be) she will be joining us for Hurricanes and popcorn!

Monday, Jan 11. 2021

 Two self generated (cuz that is how it works. YOU need to WANT it) exercise plans.

Number 1.  RedWingsInspo  Obviously, I am a Detroit Red Wings fanatic. I have been since the '80s.  They are supremely fit and I cringe inside when these six foot NO BODY FAT dudes and I would balance on a teeter totter.

 THUS-Plan UWM (inside helmet/sponsor joke) is for ME to drop from 'Tuzzi to Taro. Currently MY weight (5'0 53 year old WF) equal six foot plus muscle god Tuzzi. Lovely on him. Me? Notsomush.  I have charged my fit bit and will renew my "healthy grandma" goal. When I check off each player's weight on the weigh (get it?) down to my new boy #67 Taro Hirose I will get the reward of new hockey swag.

Tuzzi=199  START

Larkin= 198

Helm= 192

Fabbri=190

Zadina=189

Bernier=185

Hirose=162  JERSEY TIME!

Number 2.  Did I mention I am getting a grandson for my birthday? SQUEEE!! The only problem is California is about 2,300 miles away. I will be tracking mileage walked/ran on my fitbit till I "walk out to Cali" which is what I keep threatening to do anyway...ha ha.  ha.  Currently at 7.42 miles. I will be a healthy, fun grandma for this little dude!

Sunday, Jan 6, 2021

 6:40 am

I have insomnia. So at 3am I listen to podcasts; primarily to remember normal conversation. "Ologies" is my favorite. I listen to "The Winged Wheel" to keep up on hockey.  I enjoy MBMBAM and all of their shenanigans. Esp, "Shmanners".  I adore "The History of English". I used to enjoy Kevin Smith and Marc Benardin's  Fatman Beyond. Somehow Apple got TedTalks in my queue and this morning I ended up listening to "The Science of Happiness"  There was a Cis couple and also a grown daughter and her father. They all mentioned an exercise:

 https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/36_questions_for_increasing_closeness   

From this random collection I gleaned the following soundbites.

Time means nothing.

Conscious breath is helpful.

Mindfulness is vital.

I crave excitement and novelty.

I hope my kids trust me.

Also, every ad in all my algorithms, is pushing online therapists. WTF?!

The New York Times just thumped onto the back porch. I look forward to not completing the crossword puzzle.

7:00am

Twenty ONE minutes: Day 2--I am retired. I can get up when I want.

or Time is a Construct

There is a podcast (ALT universe?) I enjoy. This morning as I listened to the MBMBAM boys try and settle on a catch phrase for 2021 --I decided to up my promised writing time to 21 minutes per day. So, I will now begin to free write until 7:47am.  

This morning, I was rudely awakened an hour earlier than necessary because (buckle your seatbelt... this is a long ride) the dishwasher is broken. 

In an effort to reboot the control panel on the dishwasher, my very helpy husband flipped ALL the fuses in box. Whilst the power was cut; my Ipod (!) friendly radio/CD player alarm clock lost it's effing mind. DH then "reset" it. NOTE: He did not inform me of these actions. HE JUST TURNED ON THE ALARM FOR fucking 5:56am!! 

So there I am, cozy in my warm bed, half asleep--listening via my earbuds, to smart boys being funny. I was reveling in their joyous laughter...when I hear an odd BEEP BEEP BEEP.  It rapidly ascended to a panic mode alarm that in my sleepy haze, I assumed was Pete's alarm. He often forgets to turn it off. I remove one earbud to ID mystery noise. It was not his alarm. IT WAS MY ALARM! I haven't used that alarm in over 8 years! I stumble towards the bloody thing and struggle to remember which button needs to be pushed. The power outlet is behind my huge dresser and I am not about to move it. The battery light is also flashing so I pop the battery cover to discover white crusty danger residue has built up  

I struggle to remove acid-y AA batteries. Decide I hate the blue glow of this outdated device. Fail to find the STOP button, or the power button. Wonder why there are two different remotes. Wash my hands. Worry about how to dispose of nasty batteries. Stomp downstairs and give DH a piece of my mind. GRRRR.

TIME.

Daily FreeWriting: One

 Yesterday afternoon was a recurrence of the old anxiety of living in this world today. Truly a dark day for  democracy.  A routine procedural vote to fact check states' Electoral College votes descended into a farcical riot. I had just started to not ponder what fresh hell would surface each morning. Alas, if a glimmer of hope for sanity and a safe planet appears on my horizon-- something horrific almost immediately negates it. 

 My lame joke about GA was only cheerful for a few hours. Mid afternoon POTUS45 and his herd of angry idiots literally stormed The White House. My guts churned.  I have no power to change any of this. I voted. NOT FOR HIM. I wish for peace. 

 This morning I listened to Vietnamese author Thich Nhat Hanh's Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life. 

 I wish that I didn't want to respond to his efforts, to be aware of relationships with other people and with the natural world, with sarcasm and bitterness. I photograph beauty around me. Making myself aware of my environment. Sharing positive images with the world. I do try to remedy its pollution and injustices. Apparently, I am not trying hard enough. His deceptively simple practices of breathing and centering encourage his readers to work for peace in the world. BUT HOW MUCH IS MY JOB?  He wants (I WANT) to sustain inner peace by turning mindless responses into the mindful action. In Brook's "Caleb's Crossing", the protag learns to walk through the woods not making a sound with her steps. Heel first, roll through. Katniss, my inspiration for fictional bravery, also is at peace in the woods.   (28 minutes)

New Hope

 ~No, this isn't a Star Wars post.  But this morning Georgia left the Dark Side. whew.

~I haven't written shit in months. I mean to change that starting NOW. I hereby promise to add writing for 20 minutes every morning to my ...

"On the Daily" List.

1. Walk dogs. +1mile. no matter what weather

 2. yoga/strength

 3. chicken chores

4.  Duolingo/Spanish

5.  Drink ALL the water (66oz/8 cups)

6. Write for 20 minutes.

7.  Two emails/two petitions/two "effin do gooder" tasks

Ideally, I would like to get these done before noon. My good writing time is assuredly before 8am. If I get these done. And shower and make dinner?  I WIN!

2020 Wrap Up- The bitter year

My family made it through 2020 w/out getting "The Covid".   Pete and Z got multiple tests all negative. Pete (our delicate snowflake) has had several really weird rashes, eye swelling and bad attitude to accompany his normal sinus drama.  PFFFT. #preppershelf