Tuesday, December 9, 2025 

     What a difference. This morning, I am rested and optimistic. Two long couch naps yesterday and to bed early in the evening. Why now and how to keep up the good sleep. The sun is shining, the heater is warming the house, tasty breakfast.  The New York Times,news well, not so good.

     I watch the news reports on, MSNOW, PBS, and Facebook. The daily Monterey County Now is also good.  I know a lot about New York and Washington D.C. I ask folks where they get their local news. The younger folks don’t know what I am talking about. I miss the Monterey Herald when it was vibrant and filled with local news.

    I have a blue down throw on the couch.  So warm and cozy. I watch the bird movements outside the window.  Birds are in the oak tree, the bottle bush trees and the pyracantha bush. I watch until my eyes close and I am drifting into sleep.

     I am deeply into the novel HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano. I am definitely committed to reading all of her books. Last night I watch another episode of LONG WAY UP, two likeable middle aged guys riding electric motorcycles through South America. No murders, no violence just problems with their motorcycles and the weather.

 

Monday, December 8, 2025

     I can’t tell how I am feeling this morning. Slept very little during the night. Body feels a bit off this morning.  I’ve canceled the morning writing group in case I have a cold or something worse. Just had coffee and cereal for breakfast.

     During these cold dark months my house feels dreary. The windows are dirty, the rugs are frayed and I am restless. In a couple of weeks, the light starts coming back. My skin is itchy.  I start taking Claritin D, an anti histamine, maybe this will help with the itching. People in the cancer world use Claritin D, off label, for all kinds of conditions..

     I start reading QUEEN ESTHER the latest book by John Irving. Nope. Now I am reading HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano and love it.

      We watch another episode of THE BEAST IN ME. I give up, too hard to watch women being terrorized. I am back to watching THE LONG WAY UP, the two middle aged guys on electric motorcycles riding through South America.

 

Sunday, December 7, 2025

     The morning sun on the deck warms up my flannel and sweater clothing.  But in the shade a cool breeze pushes me back to the heated house. Each winter I am surprised with the cold. Unexpected cold, at least unexpected by me. I am trying to remember if it was as cold 54 years ago when I moved into this house.

     I finish watching the Ken Burns series, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION on PBS.  12 hours of history, on war and violence and confusion depicted by beautiful watercolor pictures. No wonder we continue to have such political struggles now. Democracy and freedom continue to be a struggle. Our country is a work in process.

     Everyone who visits me gets a demonstration of the whistle. The whistle is used to alert folks when ICE is in the neighborhood. Thousands of packets with a whistle and instructions have been created to be given to vulnerable neighborhoods in Monterey County. My plan is to sit in my car in the parking lot at Home Depot and watch for ICE activity. I haven’t done it yet but I will, I hope. We are getting prepared for an ICE attack.

     I am finishing Chloe Dalton’s memoir, RAISING HARE. Mostly a good story. Not much plot but interesting observations of animal life. I am also slowly reading David Abram nonfiction book, THE SPELL OF THE SENSUOUS. An intense philosophical book about humans and the earth.