I was talking with my massage therapist about my tendency to worry and ruminate. She said she doesn’t do that. She is a person of strong faith and just does the best she can and lets it go. It’s out of her hands.
Can I be like that when I grow up?
Of course, I am still so very happy about the blue wave, but the thrill is gone. The high has worn off. I ruminate about Stephen Miller with his creepy stone face methodically pulling the wings off butterflies.
And there’s still Trump. Who just won’t shut up. Stop, already. Please. Did we not just say we are sick of you and your cohorts? I thought that was our choice on the ballot. Vote for the person you are least disgusted with.
Much work to be done. But I am hopeful we can save democracy or what passes for it. And I will move on to doing the best I can and then letting it go. In the interim, I will beat myself up for failing at retirement time management.
Why can’t I have nice things?
I’m in year nine of retirement, and it turns out there are many fun choices, resulting in decision paralysis, so I choose to lay there and ask ChatGPT if my hair looked better long or short. I have the new Harry Bosch book waiting for me! I actually purchased it for real, and it’s just sitting there gathering dust like the rest of us. I’ve had it two weeks. I guess waiting for the perfect moment to start.
News alert. There are no perfect moments. OK, maybe there were some in the past, but I outlived my allotment. As I get older, I find time is not neutral. Not an innocent bystander. I have more of it in the on any given day but less of it in the cosmic sense. I see time now as a thing to seize or squander.
My shoulder is still not 100 percent, but it’s very good, and I’m happy about that.
I still have this crazy dream of taking a walking vacation. Not a backpacking trip, but the luxury trips where they carry your bags for you and you hunker down at night in a lovely inn. Dinner, perhaps cocktails. But maybe where I’d have to walk 10 miles a day with a light daypack.
I’ve been trying to see if my body will hold up, and I think it will, but I already overdid it with chair squats. It’s like the single best exercise I can imagine, except I did too many and aggravated my knee. That’s OK. I’m learning. I cannot just go balls to the wall anymore. But I can’t seem to resist trying.
Call me crazy, but I want to do more! However, this creaky old body is talking, and I need to listen. I’m going to lay off the squats for awhile and keep walking. Hopefully, that should get me back on track.
As you may recall, I did a dumb thing and left my sourdough starter in a warm place for several days, and he got moldy. I finally got my new starter up and running. I’ve baked with him twice now. I made a loaf yesterday and once it was cooled, I sliced it all and put it in a big Ziplock with parchment paper in between the slices. I’ve read you just pull a slice straight out of the freezer and pop it in the toaster. We shall see!
The reason I froze the sourdough loaf is because today I am making rye bread. He just came out of the oven. My rye is never as tall as I’d like, but it’s a good looking loaf just the same. We will be having the rye with stuffed cabbage rolls, which are simmering as we speak. It’s kind of chilly and rain is expected, so cabbage rolls and rye bread sound comforting.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving. We think of it as that innocent time before the shit hit the fan with Dale breaking his pelvis and then the cascade of misadventures. As always, it will be just the two of us, but we eat well. And we completely obliterate a 14-pound turkey. Not in one sitting of course, but lots of great leftovers that go in the freezer.
I have a love-hate relationship with apple pie, but last year’s was excellent, so I’m going back in. The Emile Henry ceramic pie pan makes a big difference. I made another pie in it recently that I could literally slide out whole. No soggy bottoms!
Now that I’ve had some time to ruminate on it, I actually think there are perfect moments. They’re just not perfect.
All the pundits have different reasons why the blue tsunami happened; the economy, corruption, the war, Etc. Why don’t they just say it like it is? He is the most hated person in America. Despised. Quite possibly the most hated person in the world. I am very happy and filled with hope but I won’t have a full smile until he falls down on his face hopefully on concrete.
Make that dream a reality! I love walking vacations. Two years ago was the Cotswold Way, the year before was France, the Alsace wine region. Still have more in me. You usually can tailor the mileage for your ability, and there may be taxis if you want to skip a section. In the immortal words of a Nike commercial, just do it!
I made the coconut cake you like for our supper club dinner. Yum! I made coconut ice cream to go with it. A big hit. I was glad everyone loves coconut.
My therapist never says anything that liberating. Wait. You are talking about a massage therapist?? My bad.
You may want to check out
https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/
They have walking tours in the UK and a few in Europe. Very good value – not luxurious but very comfortable. They have three level of walks – easy, medium and hard. We did the Isle of Wight and are going to Scotland in May. I am 78.