Tuesday, December 2, 2025

     I am giving up on the novel, THE HALLMARK MAN by Robert Galbraith, too long. I get confused by too many terrible characters. I really don’t like any of them. 900 page book and I am on page 600. Why do I feel so loyal to a book I don’t much like or understand.

     The day never really warms up although I do turn off the heater and put on my puffer jacket. I drag the bins to the curb one by one, balancing my cane while pushing each bin. I can do this, I am damaged not sick. My new mantra.

     In the morning my two friends come for our weekly writing together time. We do timed writing and then read our work to each other.  Such a warm friendly experience.

     In the evening, I watch Rachel Maddow news, always encouraging.  But then I watch another episode of a police procedural, BLUE LIGHTS. This show is set in violent Belfast Ireland. It has become too violent for me.  I have become more sensitive to violence recently and am looking for other shows. The best non violent show for me is LONG WAY HOME, two old guys riding motorcycles through Europe.

 

Monday, December 1, 2025  

    Already a new month, days just slip by one after another. The lodestone day is garbage day, Monday.  Four Mondays a month.  Every Monday I think, if I don’t get these bags out, I will drown in trash and garbage. Probably not realistic but the fear is real.  As a social worker I did enter hoarders’ homes. I developed a fear it could to me.

     Cold over cast morning.  Heater is on. I receive my house insurance bill in the mail. The cost is up again, but at least they are willing to insure my home. Still, it is almost too expensive. When I retired in 1999, I had adequate income with social security and a PERS pension. Inflation is a real issue.

     The personal librarian and her puppy visit in the afternoon.  The puppy sleeps during most of the visit. As usual I give her a bag of books to distribute to free libraries. I am creating space on my book shelf. Maybe folks are reading some of my favorite books.

     In the evening with the heater on and the curtains closed we watch episodes of two different series, THE LONG WAY HOME and THE BEAST IN ME. The day is done, the diner over and we can watch before bedtime.

 

Sunday, November 30, 2025

     I confess, I shop at Amazon. I support the workers. I am homebound. The primary problem is not Jeff Bazos. The workers need strong unions to obtain livable salaries and working conditions. I buy mostly bathroom and kitchen supplies. I am glad to not have my credit card used at other internet stores. Amazon works well for me because of the workers. Thank you Amazon workers.

     When I am lying down for my nap I realize the power tools I have been hearing in the neighborhood actually sound like a dentist drill. My nap is aborted.

     This morning, the birds start feeding on the pyracantha berries in the front yard. The berries have been red for months and now are ripe. Over the next ten days flocks of birds will show up. I am so excited.

   I am a little more then half way through THE HALLMARKED MAN, 400 more pages to go. We watch another episode of THE LONG WAY HOME, a documentary of two older guys traveling through Europe on their ancient motorcycles. And the then we watch another episode of THE BEAST WITHIN, a scary thriller.  Yep our taste for shows is diverse.