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| I started out in fog. After it lifted, smoke from distant fires kept things hazy |
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I don’t know why I haven’t been blogging except that I have been
busy. I could be grading papers now, but
its Thanksgiving and I decided that can wait till tomorrow. There’s a lot for which I am thankful. I am enjoying life and my daughter is home
for the holiday. It’s been wonderful
talking to her. Unlike much of the year,
I am healthy and can once again take long walks. Of course, there are still a number of things
eating at me. I haven’t caught up from
Hurricane Matthew’s interruption and as a reminder, there is still a log pile
and a pile of brush in my front yard waiting pickup. They say it might be next year… And I am blessed as to having been able to sail
on three occasions and last Friday took the first long kayak paddle since the
summer. And since I’m bragging as I give
thanks, I should mention that last Sunday evening I decided to go swimming at
the gym (I normally don’t go to the gym on Sunday and if I want exercise will either
walk or bike). For the first time in
eight years, I swam a mile without stopping!
And then there are the Cubs. As the Pirates couldn’t make the World Series,
I enjoyed watching the Cubs.
Of course, there are things with which I’m not happy. I am proud to be able to boast that I have yet
to watch a reality TV show. But I'm not proud to realize that I am living in one. I tried my best to avoid dealing with the
elections on social media and didn’t blog at all about it. I wasn’t very pleased with my options. The decision, from my point of view, was
between a tired brand who has made some bad decisions and wasn’t always
forthcoming with the truth (Clinton) and a demagogue (Trump). At one point, I thought I might vote for
Johnson. I enjoyed the humor he brought
to the campaign and wish he could have joined the debates. They might have covered some real
issues. But his seeming lack of
knowledge about anything beyond our borders (not being able to name a single foreign
leader and thinking Aleppo was some kind of acronym) caused me to sour on
him. So, in the end, I voted with the
majority and lost. Yesterday, we learned that Amway’s first lady,
Betsy DeVos will be the education secretary.
Her most qualifying attribute appears to have been funding private
school systems while the public schools in her home town of Grand Rapids are so
bad. Well, under her tutelage, I’m sure
America schools will graduate excellent Amway sales personnel. We’ll
no longer have to go to Egypt to see pyramids.
Well, there is a lot more I could complain about, so maybe I better sign
off.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Instead of a turkey, we did ham. And instead of pies, we had banana
pudding. And we ate on the back deck,
wearing short-sleeves! The rest of the
day I spent reading and taking a long walk.
Did I say that I was thankful to be able to walk again?
So glad your health took a turn for the better. Happy Thanksgivng!
ReplyDeleteYou being in better health is definitely something to be thankful for. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you are doing better physically! When you recover from something debilitating, it feels awesome just to do the things that were easy before the setback. It sounds like you had an awesome Thanksgiving. We're on our own here in Bullhead City, Arizona, so we went out for dinner. Terry has fled from the snow and cold for a few weeks and dragged me into the Mojave Desert with him. Great to explore, not sure I'd want to live here long term. Take care!
ReplyDeleteHealth is so important, and we always need to appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Lovely photos. Here in Montreal, Canada, we celebrated our Thanksgiving in October...but our harvest is at its peak at that time, which is why we celebrate it at that time. :)
ReplyDeleteGood to see a new post from you and I love that last photo.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful for the recent rain we've had - it was so needed! (and more expected next week) On a more superficial level, I'm thankful for a number of successful fishing expeditions on our pond in recent weeks. Crappie and Bass. :)
Happy thanksgiving and Im happy you are better and walking again :)
ReplyDeleteTry madeleines I answer you in my post.
Hugs !
I've been kind of enjoying Trump's victory even though I didn't vote for him. I voted Johnson despite his lack of foreign knowledge. In a way, I think I'm part Jeffersonian and love to see politics as usual get shook up every now and then. I kind of hoped Trump would pick some real outsiders for his cabinet but it doesn't appear that is going to happen. I'm hoping that over the next four years, the two major parties can do some re-evaluation of themselves and perhaps some good will come from all of this.
ReplyDeleteWe smoked a turkey and I've been enjoying my cold smoked turkey sandwiches ever since. I'm also hunkered down and won't be seen around town until sometime after the first of the year when all the craziness disappears. With craziness on television too, I've been getting a lot of reading done for which I am thankful!
That's a beautiful sail. Happy Thanksgiving weekend, Sage.
ReplyDeleteSounds like things are going pretty well. For me too. and it sure is nice.
ReplyDeleteIt is what it is Jeff. As much as it should be something different it ain't.
ReplyDeleteEveryone in education is going to be in for a long long ride with DeVos. She is for full privatization and the cutting off of public pension and healthcare benefits. Never worked in education, has no degrees in education, never sent her kids to public schools. I think most educators are anout to feel the pain the City of Detroit employees felt in bankruptcy.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you had a great weekend. I'm glad you're doing much better now. That sure is something to be thankful for.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you had a Happy Thanksgiving and that you went on a great walk. We had a mix of traditional foods and nontraditional (no turkey this year, as it was just two of us and I have been a vegetarian for the past year).
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful week!
~Jess
Glad you're back blogging, I was actually starting to get worried. Personally this New Year's Eve I am going to metaphorically throw everything that happened this year, especially the cluster frak of an election, into a wood pile and burn it. I will then proceed to get uncharacteristically drunk although given who the "won" the election I do not see 2017 being much better.
ReplyDeleteNo, let me backup for a moment, there is one bright spot in 2017 and it is my upcoming trip to Cumberland Island.
Enjoy Cumberland. I'm looking at trying to get back down to the Okefenokee for a few days of wilderness solitude around the New Year. I am praying that 2017 is a lot better than 16, but on a personal front as I spent way too much money on doctors and hospitals in 2016, between the insurance companies and me, probably as much as has been spent in the 5 (almost 6) decades of my life.
DeleteIt was wonderful to see you here again, it's been a slow posting adventure for me lately too! I miss catching up with you and everyone else here!
ReplyDeleteSo good to see your post here.
ReplyDeleteWe all have so much to be thankful for, and we should concentrate on the positives!
Glad you had a great Thanksgiving.
All the best Jan
I'm behind and trying to catch up too. I'm glad to hear you had a nice Thanksgiving and that you are able to walk again. That is indeed a wonderful thing to be grateful for. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the good report. Sounds like you celebrated Thanksgiving in the best way possible -- being thankful!
ReplyDeleteDitto on the election and president-elect. I chose to vote for Johnson, knowing, of course, he would not be elected and my state would go solidly for Trump. I fancied myself sending a message, if only to myself.
Glad to hear you had a good Thanksgiving! Despite the scary stuff happening politically... Hopefully more local representatives and lower-level government bodies can actually get some good work done, despite those at the top -- especially in education!
ReplyDeleteI voted the majority, too. I'm in the denial stage now about the next four years.
ReplyDeleteSo glad your health is improved - nice. And Thanksgiving sounds lovely! I was in northern Florida - it was beautiful weather.
Glad you had a good Thanksgiving.
ReplyDelete