viewHappy Humpday!
A few hours ago, about Noon-ish, she and I went to one of our favorite quiet little restaurants for lunch. We went inside, were seated at a table, ordered from the menu, and were served by a waiter who has served us many times before. It felt SO DAMNED GOOD to be out in the world living normally for the first time in months!
On the way home we stopped at the neighborhood HEB store for some groceries. I've been hitting the grocery store about once a week since this whole plandemic lockdown nonsense started. Yes, I wore a face mask there, (but I didn't need one inside the restaurant, of course). And the shelves and bins at the store are now filled and well-stocked so shopping is so much easier than it was when the lockdown first hit.
And on the way home we noticed the price of gasoline has gone up. But that's to be expected. There's a whole lot more Texans driving around now, burning up gas. And that whole supply and demand thing comes into play: the greater the demand for a product (gasoline), the higher the price for the supply will be.
GOD, I'm glad Texas is opening back up for business.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 27 May 2020, this is my number 24/100/365 post of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving
by Roscoe
viewCroquet, anyone?
Why in the world has it taken me so long to buy a croquet set?
We had so much fun playing this backyard game when I was a boy growing up! And now that I'm an old fart, I'm finding this a great excuse to get out of the recliner and into the outdoors, fresh air, and sunshine, and move around.
Pricing new croquet sets, I found they can retail into the several hundreds of dollars. BUT cheapo sets like this that I've just purchased online, can be had in the $25.00 or $35.00 range. And this has everything needed to play the game, plus a carrying case to store the stakes, wickets, balls, and mallets when not being used.
Is this aerobic exercise? Of course not. Strength and muscle building? Ha! Not at all. But as I said above, croquet gets me moving around outside in the fresh air and sunshine. And it's fun! So I consider it to be a very healthy activity: something good for old folks like me to do.
So... who's up for a game?
The adventure continues.
Posted on 24 May 2020, this is my 23/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving #health
by Roscoe
viewGood Habits, Good Decisions
The week now ending has been challenging in the Roscoe-verse. There were days of monotonous boredom, and other days calling for serious out-of-the ordinary decisions. But throughout it all I was able to maintain a sense of calm and right-thinking.
A major help during this strange week has been keeping up with some very healthy habits: daily prayer & Bible reading, and physical exercise. Now, I don't spend nearly as much time in prayer as some others do, but I make sure to get in some form of formal prayer and Bible reading at least two or three times per day.
Though my days as a competitive runner or serious weight lifter are many, MANY years behind me; and though I'm trying to self-quarantine as much as possible (me being elderly now and with underlying health issues), I can still spend time on my stepper-machine getting a good burn in my major leg muscles, or working through a routine of stretches remembered from my years studying tai-chi.
And look, this past week I didn't miss a day on those good habits. They helped a lot toward making this a good week, I'm sure of that.
The adventure continues.
Posted on 23 May 2020, this is my 22/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #habits
by Roscoe
viewTwo books open at the moment
I seem to have fallen into an old habit, one that has given me a certain sense of comfort many times in the past. Sometimes for years at a time before circumstances pulled me away from it. I'm reading two books at a time, one fiction and the other non-fiction.
The Gunpowder Coast is a science-fiction novel I've just started and am enjoying quite a bit. Loaded onto my Kindle, this is a book I can comfortably read in bed or anywhere else I happen to be.
The other book I'm working through is an RMS
Emacs Manual. Those of you familiar with these things know it's an over-sized 800-page brute of a book. I've got it in paperback rather than hardback but it's not the kind of thing you carry around. And it's not what anyone would call light reading. Solidly settled in my home office next to my computers, this will probably take me the rest of this year to work through. Maybe longer.
The science fiction book will certainly be finished first and replaced by others while I continue to work through the Emacs Manual. But this reading pattern will help divert my mind from the ridiculous news cycle that always proves to be so embarrassing during a Presidential Election year.
And the adventure continues.
Posted on 20 May 2020, this is my 21/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #books
by Roscoe
viewA crash on the first lap...
... of the first REAL LIVE NASCAR CUP RACE of the 2020 Season just happened and I saw it. Only one car was involved. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun into a wall and, thank God, he wasn't injured. But it was exciting to see.
And it is an absolute joy to see the return of one of my favorite live sports following its 10-week shutdown forced by the pandemic lock-down.
For me, this is a clear sign that America is coming back to life. And that makes me very, VERY happy!
And the adventure continues.
Posted on 17 May 2020, this is my 20/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #NASCAR
by Roscoe
viewHonoring the day
Today, 16 May 2020, we honor Armed Forces Day in the United States by flying our flag.
And the adventure continues.
I’m publishing this as day 19 of my 100 Days To Offload. You can join in this blogging challenge yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.
#100DaysToOffload #flag #ArmedForcesDay
by Roscoe
viewMoving The Goalposts
Post 18/100/365
Kev Quirk, he who originated the 100 Days To Offload blogging challenge in which many of us are participating, had a think about that today and adjusted the guidelines defining our 100 Days challenge.
Some people appear to be having no issues with the #100DaysToOffload challenge in its original form.
If you want to continue doing 100 posts in 100 days, go for it!
The challenge is now to publish 100 posts in 365 days, but if you can do it in 100 days, more power to you. If you do it 150 days, 200 days or 300 days; it doesn’t matter.
What’s important here is to motivate people to write more. That’s all.
I'm happy to embrace this change. As my online life adjusts to the long term worldwide economic slowdown/shutdown I find myself using new and different social platforms and “socializing” with different communities that have different interests and concerns.
Writing a little less frequently here will give me more time to better collect my thoughts and maybe to write a little better. At least, that's the hope. We'll see if that happens.
Rather than obsessing about publishing something, anything, every single day, I'll now expand the time frame of my 100 Offload posts from 100 Days to one year – 365 Days.
And so the adventure continues.
I’m publishing this as day 18 of my 100 Days To Offload. You can join in this blogging challenge yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.
#100DaysToOffload #blogging
by Roscoe
viewFinally some excitement – Day 17/100
12 May 2020 ~ 15:30
According to a weather bulletin that just popped up on my phone, we're under a tornado watch. Heavy thunderstorms are likely until shortly after midnight, and the tornado watch is in effect until 17:00, about two hours from now. I'm not looking forward to any damage that may come, but ... things have been so damned boring lately.
Off and on rain has been the order of the day so far. It was heavy rain that woke me this morning at about 06:00. But the walk was dry when I went out to the mailbox a few minutes ago.
In other news I've rejoined MeWe, a social networking platform I've joined then left a couple of times over the last few years. The reason for my jumping on it again is to stay in touch with a community of folks who have just left Facebook.
And so the adventure continues.
I’m publishing this as day 17 of my 100 Days To Offload. You can join in this blogging challenge yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.
#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving
by Roscoe
viewMidday Monday: Day 16/100
11 May 2020 ~ 15:10
Nothing to get excited about today, but I am moving steadily through the day's chores.
It being Monday, one of my assigned chores was doing laundry. And that is now done. Two loads washed, dried, and put away.
Another chore was working on my Correspondence Chess games. I currently have five active games at my club and a few minutes ago I moved in all of them.
A third chore will be posting to my blog. Working on that at the moment. As soon as I publish this little quicky of a post, that chore will be completed.
Spending time on my stepper will give me the day's physical workout, and I will get to that shortly.
After that, who knows? Surfing the Internet, watching some TV, catching a few podcasts I try to follow: regular time-killing stuff. Life under this pandemic lockdown keeps on keeping on.
And the adventure continues.
I’m publishing this as day 16 of my 100 Days To Offload. You can join in this blogging challenge yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.
#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving
by Roscoe
viewSaturday evening: Day 15/100
09 May 2020 ~ 18:30
Spending time with an old scifi movie, Creature, that I've seen several times and never particularly enjoyed as I wait for tonight's Svengoolie.
I'd rather be doing something, almost anything, out in the yard, but the horrible old man across the street is out in his front yard and I do NOT want to be out front while he is. I tried the backyard a few minutes ago but the next door neighbor's dog's constant barking was so annoying that I just came back inside.
So here I am, me and Creature.
Sylvia's napping now and when she wakes she'll find the Mother's Day card and gift I have set out for her on her little table. Hope she likes them. I imagine she will.
What was that? Could it be an ice cream bar calling me from the freezer? Yes, I think that's what I hear. I'd better go see what it wants.
And the adventure continues.
I’m publishing this as day 15 of my 100 Days To Offload. You can join in this blogging challenge yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.
#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving
by Roscoe