Weather Highs and Lows

The temperature reached about a hundred, today, and I… well… I went on my standard three mile hike after work. For those of you who are new to my blog, yes… I was fairly well prepared, and didn’t take any major risks. Lots of fluids. Lots of electrolytes. And I kept track of my heart

Waubonsie State Park

I had a day off, so I headed off to the great outdoors. Iowa, to be specific. Iowa? Well, the high, woodsy bluffs right across the river. Full disclosure? I really like trees. I like walking under them. I like the shade. I like the way the wind blows through them, and the birds who

A Short Loop on the Platte River

I finally have some (moderately) outdoorsy pictures for you. I got outside, got my annual park permit… and got in a few miles. Ordinarily, I might hop over the border to go to parks in the neighboring states (beautiful, wooded, hilly states), but… Pandemic. So, I got an annual park permit for my home state.

A Subdued Thanksgiving

I had a Thanksgiving post scheduled to go, yesterday. I pulled it at the last minute because it didn’t really fit my current mood. I’m not sure that it would have fit anybody’s current mood. I had a pretty mellow Thanksgiving this year. Just two of us, and not at Waffle House, either. All said

Death and the Pre-Published Author

I don’t know how I wound up talking about death last week. It’s not a topic that’s front and center on anybody’s mind in a pandem– Oh. Well, anyway, the topic turned to estate planning for unpublished and indie writers. Don’t get me wrong. I get the general idea. It’s just that once I finish

How to Fully Reopen the Public Schools By 2026

The first step in reopening schools is figuring out what the actual, mathematical 6-foot social distanced capacity of the school is. Add a margin for error–or for children pretending to be dinosaurs. Room by room. If everything runs perfectly, how many children can be in this room? What if it doesn’t go perfectly? Guess what?

The Social Event of the Pandemic

I went to the grocery store today. It was a big occasion. My first standalone grocery store trip since the beginning of the pandemic. Usually, I get groceries after work. Not today. Today, the refrigerator hit zero, and I was forced to make a special trip. You know. A trip where I get up, and

Bullet journal bookmark-schedule

Bullet Journal: Daily Routines and Long-Term Goals

Bullet journal or not, I’ve always had problems with the shift in schedule between the days I work, and the days I don’t. Now that I can’t go out on weekends or after work, it’s even worse. Yup. There’s something about looking at a clock that says “ass crack of dawn” and actually getting up

IWSG: The Plague Rat Writing World

April 1 question – The IWSG’s focus is on our writers. Each month, from all over the globe, we are a united group sharing our insecurities, our troubles, and our pain. So, in this time when our world is in crisis with the covid-19 pandemic, our optional question this month is: how are things in

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