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Kali and I took a walk today.  Well, we actually took two walks.

We went west nearly a block, there is a house with a big dog that isn’t tied up or fenced in. I’ve made friends with that dog on previous walks without Kali. I just didn’t want Kali’s walk to be scary. Then came back home. I offered her treats as I got to our driveway telling her this is “home”.

Neither of us was ready to go inside. It was not windy. There was enough sun to be wonderful outside. So we walked to the end of our dirt road and turned south.

Right there on that corner, our neighbor has three big dogs. They are in his fenced yard. But they bark at everything that passes. I walk Kali on a tight leash on the other side of the street. I tell her I’m afraid of those dogs and to stay close to me. She is getting it. She whines a little. I remember Cesar’s training of dogs and “sssss” or “shshshshsh” her while keeping the leash tight. Once past the dogs, we relax. I give her the length of her leash.

We walked to the end of that block. I’ve never walked in that direction. With no car, our walks have always been toward our little town. But now that there is a car in our household, though it is gone with my brother to work every day, we have no great need. He picks up the mail or groceries. So Adventure! new route to explore!

Then we walked back home. Past the barking-dog-corner and driveway, “home” + treat. Then we went in to rest. I realized I didn’t have the map or mileage of the walk.

It wasn’t that far so when Kali wanted to do the “outside” thing again we donned harness, vest, leash, sunglasses, sweatshirt, hat–I think you know who wore what–we took the same walk. This time I made sure I had the app turned on, on my phone.

Well, the walking west part was the same. The walking east was the same. But when we went south we explored more. We got to see the back of our property. We got to see the haybarn I can see from my kitchen window. So cool!

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Easy to see in this old winter picture. Now no snow and it is green sagebrush everywhere. It looks like a quick walk–if there were no fences between here and hay barn. But going around the block was much longer.

So it was a fun day with two walks. Saw things up close I had not seen that way before. Maybe next time I will make sure to take pictures. After all–the satellite for the GPS couldn’t track me so all I had at the end was that each walk was about 40 minutes long. I estimated about 2 miles or 4. Don’t know. Whatever, it was was good for Kali and me. She’s knocked out beside me. And not nearly as shaky as she has been.

So how do you all handle the other dogs issues on your walks? I trust Kali, just not so much those big dogs.

One-Liner Wednesday–Just Askin’


Why are all the new updates making every program worse?

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You would think that this would be easiest of the blogging prompts but I always get stumped. What would you come up with? Go check out Linda G Hill’s blog to learn the rules and join the fun!


Saw this on FaceBook and thought it would be fun here. Ping back to me by including my URL from the top or just paste your answers to the comments below.

Come on, someone do this with me! Facebook and WordPress are supposed to be SOCIAL so let’s learn about each other. 😉
✍ Tattoos – no
😷 Surgeries – yes
🏥Broken Bones – yes
🔫 Shot a gun – yes
😕 Quit a job – yes
✈️ Flown on a plane – yes
🚙💨 Driven 100mph – yes
🚁 Rode in a helicopter – no
🍼 Watched someone give birth – yes
😯 Watched someone dying – yes
🏈 Been to an NFL game – no
🍁 Been to Canada – yes
🚑 Ridden in an ambulance – no
🏦 Visited Washington D.C – no
🌞 Visited Florida – no
🗻 Visited Colorado – yes
🎉 Visited Mexico – yes
🎲 Visited Vegas – yes
🍔 Eaten alone at a restaurant – yes
🎤 Sang karaoke – yes
🎿 Been downhill skiing – no
🎼 Ability to read music – yes
🚵 Rode a motorcycle – yes
🏇 Rode a horse – yes
🏥 Stayed in a hospital – yes
💉 Donated blood – yes
🏕 Slept outside – yes
🚗 Driven a stick shift – yes
🚓 Rode in a Police Car – no
😇 Grandkids- no, do grandpuppies or grandkitties count?
🚤 Driven a Boat – yes
🐌 Eaten Escargot – no
👽 Seen a UFO – maybe???
🚢 Been on a cruise- yes
⛽️ Ran out of gas-yes, though no when I was driving
🍣 Eat Sushi – hell no
Seen a Ghost – yes
Phone: Hold your finger down and select copy. Or on computer: Select all the quiz hit ctrl C. Then go to status or comments or your own site and paste. Change the answers to your own and post to your wall, comments or site. Don’t forget to ping back or leave your website in the comments so I can see your answers. I want to know!

Since 2005, these small doors have been popping up all throughout downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Source: If you walk around this town, you’ll see these tiny ‘fairy doors.’ Here’s what they mean

 

Does this count as Thursday Doors, even though it isn’t Thursday and it isn’t pictures I took? (I live in the country and very few doors come into view.)


Recent studies suggest you can get better at a foreign language simply by listening to it, without speaking it yourself.

Source: An easier way to learn a language? This is what research says | World Economic Forum


I just finished another hat using fun fur with a soft Red Heart, yellow. I added a brim in the leftover yellow using Scarlett Royal’s method. Since I still don’t have a mannequin head–dummy head? I used my own.

I just did the e-wrap until time for the brim. Funny part is that I found it looks better inside out as the little confetti look better on the ‘purl’ side. This is a fun hat to wear!

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These last two I discovered that the hat could be worn inside out with the brim rolled up.

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Oh, and I colored my hair and I love how it turned out!


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Share Your World is brought to us by Cee’s Photography. Go check it out and come and join the fun! I cheated this time and read Joey’s answers first. I love her blog and read it nearly every day. Please see what she’s been up to!

 

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are? 

Oh, this is such a hard question to answer. My spirit is probably around 35-40. If my body let me do what I wanted I could probably give people of that age a run for their money. But I think I have aged 20 years in the last couple. I feel older than 90 in what I can do. Yet, I think having Kali around is helping me find my inner child. I think with the walks we’ll be taking this spring and summer I may find the ageless me again. By the way, here’s the latest: Kali listening to secrets and concentrating so hard while I give her kisses.

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So, you’re on your way out and it’s raining. Do you know where your umbrella is or do you frantically search for it all over your apartment/house?

I know where all my umbrellas are. I used to like the rain in my hair. But now, with glasses, I like protecting my eyesight more than my hair. If only there were windshield wipers for glasses! I do have rain boots and I think Kali and I may just take a walk in the rain soon. But will I be able to hold the leash and the umbrella? Maybe I’ll leave my glasses at home so I can forgo the umbrella. As someone said on Joey’s site, that’s why we have hoods on our coats!

Do you recharge your energy by going out with friends for a good time or by spending with quiet time alone?

I do feel recharged when I spend time with my friends, either real life or on Google Hangout. I feel drained if I try to connect by phone. I can feel very drained if I have to go somewhere to be with them and there are other people. The more people the more drained. YET my spirit is happy no matter how I connect. On the other hand, I LOVE time alone. There are times when my hubby goes to town and my brother is at work and so I get to be alone. I get so much done. I get to watch favorite shows or read text-to-speech with no headset! Or nap, or go outside with the dog and just enjoy nature. I’m happy either way.

Name three things you and your spouse, partner or best friend  to have in common.

My BFFs and my hubby and I enjoy reading, writing, Doctor Who and other Sci-Fi shows. We are Geeks and proud of it! And my BFFs are now loving loom knitting! So fun! If only I could talk my hubby into trying it!

Optional Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? 

I’m grateful for healing. I’m glad my hubby is feeling stronger. I’m grateful that I am feeling more energy and less pain. I’m grateful that Spring is here and the rain is here. That I can go outside without a coat and hat and bundled up. I love looking at the snow, but I hate having to go out in it. That cold makes me hurt. But Spring!!!!!

I am so looking forward to getting out and walking with Kali. It is going to be so fun. I am looking forward to coloring my hair–has it really been over 7 months? I don’t know if anyone else feels it makes me look better, but I always feel better once it’s done. I’m looking forward to feeling good enough to take the bus, with Kali and my new coccyx pillow. I think being prepared will help me weather the trip.

 


A Thief in Time: A Time Travel NovelA Thief in Time: A Time Travel Novel by Cidney Swanson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so excited to get A Flight In Time to review. Cidney Swanson is one of my favorite Young Adult writers. Come to find out she lives in a nearby Oregon town. She’s lucky I don’t have a car! And that I have social anxiety that keeps me from seeking out people I don’t know. Still, her Saving Mars series is my favorite series for young adults and up. I wish she could write more of those as it really helps the me I was as a pre-teen/teen. There was very little out there in the sci-fi realm that had strong female leads. Please read the series if you get the chance. Her Rippler series is good, too.

But back to A Flight in Time (book 2). Here is a comment I made under A Thief in Time (book 1):

Oops, somehow I am reading book two that isn’t on GoodReads yet. Maybe I should see if I got it? I am 37% into A Flight in Time. Now I feel confused as to what to do.

Then I realized that at one point or another I did get book 1. It was $.99 at the time. Somehow it got marked “Read” so I never saw it in my “Currently Reading” shelf. So I stopped reading book 2 and started reading book 1. This series may soon rival Mars in favorites!

A Thief In Time is very exciting. The main character, Halley, is quite the character. I love the depth of spirit she shows in spite of a less than ideal upbringing. Ms. Swanson built her so well that I felt she was real. I love her friends and how it is they found themselves in the enviable position of having access to a time machine.

By the way, I love the names of the characters. Good nods to science!

I want to put more here but I don’t want anything to spoil a future reader’s experience with that book or the next.

So, those who follow my reviews know how I hate cliffhangers. This was not that. But awfully close. No one was left in danger. But I was so in love with the characters and the time travel adventures that I was so happy I had the next book downloaded and ready to go.

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Since I can’t find the place to review book 2, A Flight in Time, I will put it here and move this part to that book when it is live on GoodReads. Right now it is $.99 on Amazon whereas book 1 is $3.99. Both are well worth the money!

I will give this five stars also. My biggest problem was the names when I read #2 first. After getting to know everyone in #1 I still had that problem. I expected to see a little more about Halley and her life. So it was a bit of a shock to start reading about her friend, Jillian. Her life wasn’t as interesting or as full of challenges, as far as I was concerned, but she has a sciencey mind and is working towards her own goals. That warmed me to her.

I must admit that I couldn’t quit reading this book–another 4 AM sleep time. The book was full of anxious moments, ‘how were they going to get out of this?’ kinds of questions sailed through my head. And lots of time travel!

AND that ending!!!! I can’t wait to find out the resolve for that. Still, not a cliffhanger. Just a little something to have Cidney Swanson fans waiting with bated breath!!!

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View all my reviews


Animal FarmAnimal Farm by George Orwell

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Okay. I get it. A ‘person’ with no previous experience in running the farm takes over. The gullible listen because it is a strong voice. Rather charismatic. Lazy farm animals rather than using their brains or researching what it takes to run the farm vote this person in. The person sets up rules and keeps them as long as they apply to his own comfort and then changes them while no one pays attention, deflecting that attention by making folks think they had seen it wrong to begin with.

Yes, I see the appeal. But I am no more impressed with this book that when it was assigned to my Humanities class in High School. Sad that all the things we fought so hard for back then are being taken away by the pigs. Living the story doesn’t increase its appeal. It’s still a male heavy story with nothing but fighting and hatred.

But maybe everyone should read it. Who knows what might wake up the rest of the animals on this farm. By the way, this was the audio version that I picked up from the OverDrive library. I had hoped that the E-library would have the Kindle version but it was still out. I will take it off HOLD so that it can go to someone else.

View all my reviews


Or could this be early Monday Madness? No. It still has to be Sunday as I am still awake. If I say it is Monday then I will have missed a day of blogging and my record is ruined! I can’t have that! I like that I do this every day. Even when it isn’t the greatest of blogs, it is the habit I want to keep.

Some things in our lives don’t take working at. Like breathing, swallowing, eating. But some days getting out of bed is a challenge. So I try to make sure I do it. I try not to take naps so that my nights are better, but since Hubby broke his shoulder our schedules have messed up with pain and naps have to happen. Brushing teeth. There is one that isn’t like breathing. I have to tell myself a couple times a day to do it or it flies away into the land of forgotten things. Brushing my hair. This one includes pain sometimes so I have to find a way to keep it corralled. A ponytail does that and keeps it out of my eyes and off my face. I’m seriously thinking of cutting it all off. The only thing that stops me is the in-between lengths when it can be so much more work than a ponytail.

Reading is like breathing. I never have to tell myself to read. It just happens. Writing reviews? Not as easy. In fact, I have three I need to do tomorrow!

Along with reading is loom knitting. My hands get anxious when I am not doing it.

Gosh, I think that is all of the easy habits. EVERYTHING ELSE TAKES –what? Will-power? Not so much. Will-power is energy I don’t have. And doing the blog and my languages and my piano and taking walks have to flow from something else. Passion? Not the flaming kind. But, yeah–that or a sense of pride?

Sorry that I am using you as a sounding board but jump right in and help me understand how to make better habits. I do feel a sense of pride for blogging every day since New Years and the same track record on the Duolingo languages.

All of this was somewhat easier when I was a full-time mom, working, pre-pain. Now I have to work at all of it. I’m truly sorry for the parents who have to deal with pain, for people who have to work while in pain. Yes, I did have that and managed. But I’m going to tell you, faking it, smiling and doing your job dressed in uncomfortable clothing, thinking when your brain refuses, all that catches up with you; can break you. Finding the balance back then was doing nothing after work. So many things I wanted to do but had no energy to try.

Now I have all the time but lack energy and funds. So I want to do it wisely. I have so many interests. I have always had a million interests. How to turn those into habits so as to squeeze the most out of the life I’m in.

How do you all handle your passions, interests, balance?

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