MadGravity

February 2021

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 00:33:53 GMT

************* Poems and stuff for February *************

I decided to suspend posting of my APISOD: “A Poem-Inspiration-Story Of the Day,” because of the effort I put in but getting so little response. I had done the post every night for two months. So, beginning on March 1 there won’t be anymore posting of APISOD. I still think it was a good idea, but the response wasn’t what I had hoped it would be.

The meaning of life is not what you make of it but what you put into it...

~RD

I had a dream last night I was just starting college again. I was borrowing someone else’s Porsche, for whatever reason I’ll never know, and had parked it somewheres in the student parking lot. I went searching all over for the dang car. I found it the next morning when one of the students I supposedly knew said, “Nice Porsche you’re driving. Hey, you wanna go on an expedition with us. We do this every morning and start off by riding our bikes up that huge hill over there,” he said this as he pointed to a curvy mountain road, “then we stop to play a couple of innings of baseball. We finish up with a few laps in the school’s pool, then a nice hot shower before we go to our first class. Whattaya Say? You in?” For sure I was in but I didn’t have my bike with me and told him, “I’ll meet you on the baseball field!” Another friend and an upper classmate, I had just noticed tagging along with me in my dream, says, “Ain’t you a little old to be doing all that?” And to that, I replied, “I'm just an older student."

I then woke up from my dream. It was early morning so I went outside to workout on my weight bench, punch at the heavybag, and then I went for a mile jog. I felt refreshed in spirit and health after that dream.

~RD

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February 2021

Monday 01- 65/45F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a jog.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Tuesday 02- 68/42FI did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Wednesday 03- 72/44I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

My guest and I went to town to do some shopping.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a nice long walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Thursday 04- 71/42F a nice sunny day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

FedEx delivered my 12V 170AH LIFO battery I’ve been waiting on.

Cleaned out the clothes closet; gotta go through them and give away what I won’t wear.

Did the poop patrol and scooped it all up.

I went outside in the cold and did a little stargazing with the new telescope and mount.

I did all of my studies; astronomy, anatomy, and a few others. Posted APISOD.

Friday 05- 72/42F nice and sunny day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did all my studies and posted APISOD.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, 100 crunches, core trainer, and beat on the heavy bag for a while.

Late at night I heard a clatter of noise outside in the patio near my bedroom window. Cassie heard it too and started barking. Someone called out, “Bob” really loud and I said, “Yes?” and quickly got up. No less than 30 seconds went by when I opened the front door to find no one there. I grabbed my flashlight and searched the property but to my surprise no one was around.

Saturday 06- 72/42F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Sunday 07- 76/44F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a bike/run. My left heel has been giving me pain and so I’ll stop jogging for a short while until it feels better.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

Watched the Superbowl, and WOW what a game! That “old Man” Brady kicked some ass! “The National Football Conference champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conference champion Kansas City Chiefs, 31–9.” I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Monday 08- 72/45F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

Linda came by to dump her trash and jaw for a spell.

Kjtel and Bodhi came by with their trash for my dumpster and we sat and had coffee together.

Tuesday 09- 69/47F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk. My left heel is still giving me some pain.

I am trying to figure out a place to install the inside part to the mini-split.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Wednesday 10- 71/45F it turned out to be a nice day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

My guest needed a ride to get her meds, so I gave her a ride down to her pharmacy, but first went to WalMart to purchase two 5 gallon tanks of propane.

Thursday 11- 75/50F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I fixed the 2 stroke generator and now it runs great now.

Friday 12- 69/48 I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

Saturday 13- 65/46 with lots of wind! I did my stretches and 100 crunches.

Sunday 14- 63/41F with wind but not as bad as yesterday. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I called and yapped with my Brother Kevin.

Monday 15- 68/51F no wind today. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Tuesday 16- 65/42/F another windy day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk/jog; too windy to jog all the way.

I have too much junk holding me down and need to get rid of some of it. I started working on the Mini Cooper; going to try to get it running but either or I’m going to sell it. I’m also thinking of selling some of my computers on Ebay.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

The DMV wants me to smog the truck but I thought I smogged it last year. I’m thinking of just putting it on non-op... $220 to register plus insurance is just too much to pay when I only use it once or twice a year to get materials at Home Depot. I can rent a truck when I need one. Maybe I’ll sell the truck too.

Selling my Harley Sportster... I gotta think real hard about selling that.

Wednesday 17- 61/33F a bit of wind. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

Went to get the truck’s spare tire reseated. On the way I stopped at my mailbox and met Dan and Kay who also live on my street but have never met. I think they said they have been living here for 11 years. Found out Dan was in the Army in Germany when I was back in 1969.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Thursday 18- 61/37F a little cold breeze. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

Watched the Mars landing of Perseverance... I was pinned to my computer screen focused on the landing and nail-biting through the whole process.

I went to get my truck smogged in Yucca Valley. Drove 30 miles to have the guy there tell me his equipment for my kind of vehicle was broken. I went to get back into the truck only to find my front right tire was flat. I put air into it and it was enough to get me to WalMart. The tire had to be replaced because the hole was in the sidewall.

Friday 19- 68/44F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

Found a smog certification place close by in Twentynine Palms and got truck smogged.

Kjtel and Bodie stopped by for a chat and a walk with me and Cassie.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Saturday 20- 65/42F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Sunday 21- 64/41F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Linda came by to dump her trash in my dumpster. She had some problems with the electrical that I fixed her truck.

Monday 22- 69/42F I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

Kjtel came by to dump her trash in my dumpster and we sat down and jawed for a while.

Tuesday 23- 76/47F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Wednesday 24- 78/44F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I went to Home Depot to purchase some electrical components for the mini-split.

Thursday 25- 62/38F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Friday 26- 64/43 I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Went to Twentynine Palms to pick up mail and do some shopping.

Saturday 27- 66/40 windy. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I exercised with the 10lb weights, core trainer, beat on the heavy bag for a while, and took Cassie for a walk.

Almost poked my eyeball out with one of those spring loaded measuring tapes when I was measuring the cutout for the inside unit of the mini-split. Hurts really bad and now my vision is blurry in the left eye.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Sunday 28- 60/33F windy. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, weight bench, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile walk.

I will focus my time and efforts towards something more positive and creative. I have a good start on a new book I’m writing and will be piecing together over the coming months. I am not going to be in a rush to get it done. The book is about a girl of 18 who gets invited to go on a day sail with a young man in his early ‘20s. Unfortunately, the young man falls overboard and the girl gets hit unconscious by the boom when coming out of the hatch after hearing his calls for help.

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January 2021

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 23:09:54 GMT

January 2021

New Years:

Friday 01- 59/34F a bright sunny New Year’s Day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, weight bench, and beat on the heavy bag for a short time, and jogged a mile with me dog.

I built a 12 volt 24AH battery out of 3 12V 8AH batteries I had lying around and will hook it up to the 30Watt solar panel but I got a late start on it and didn’t get a good charge on it. So, I connected the house wiring back to the lead acid battery.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and core trainer.

I did my studies and practiced on my guitar.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Posted my first “Poems, inspirations, or stories of the Day” on Medium.com which I plan on doing out of my Azure Sea of Dreams book; one by one all the way to the end of the year.

Saturday 02- 60/37F with some clouds coming in the early evening.

I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

The lithium battery is hooked up but I didn’t think it was getting a good enough charge out of the 30Watt panel, so I connected up a 50Watt panel to the 30Watt I had lying around and I am happy with the charge the battery was getting.

I took Cassie for a bike/run and stopped off at David’s to wish him a Happy New Year.

I did my studies, posted a poem, and practiced guitar.

I went through most of the bills, receipts, and papers collected over the past year and burned them in the wood stove. (I do this every year)

Sunday 03- 63/38F nice sunny day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

It was time to shovel the compost into the wheelbarrow and spread it all over the yard where plants are growing. After this was done I started a new pile of compost and watered it down. I also gave a good soaking to all the plants in the yard.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I took Cassie for a bike/run. We took a new route, a little more than what she is used to, and boy she was tired when we got back.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted a poem, and practiced guitar.

Monday 04- 66/41F nice outside. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, hit on the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

Linda came by to say howdy and dump her trash in my dumpster.

I washed some more clothes because of the nice weather.

I waited for my doctor’s appointment to call at 2:30 and she was a little late but got the refill I needed.

I did my studies, guitar, and posted the poem thing.

Tuesday 05- 67/40F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Kjtel and Bodhi came by to spend a little time jawing with me and Cassie. Then we took the dogs for an evening walk.

Wednesday 06- 66/39F a little overcast but nice. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I drove my Guest to town to get her’s and my meds refilled. We stopped off to get gas and a couple of Subway sandwiches.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I took Cassie for a bike/run and stopped to chat to David for a while.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted a poem, but didn’t practice guitar because I need to let my fingers rest a bit.

Thursday 07- 68/40F overcast most of the day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a short walk. Last night she wasn’t feeling well and this morning she was a bit better. I took her for an evening walk and it was quite a bit longer because I let her guide the way.

I did my studies.

Friday 08- 69/41F overcast. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I was on my jog with Cassie when I passed by David’s place. He was outside working on his fence. I told him I’d be right back to help him once we finish our jog. We got a good portion of the fence up but there is a lot more to do. I’ll probably mosey on over there tomorrow after breakfast to help.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

On our evening walk Cassie and I noticed campers over where the slab airbnb is. I went over to warn them about getting stuck. It was my two Russian friends I helped get their car back on the road a week ago; Valian and Sergio. They assured me the car was parked on solid ground. We stood yammering on for about an hour until it was just too cold and windy.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted a poem.

Saturday 09- 63/36F a little overcast with a light breeze. I did my stretches, and 100 crunches.

Yes dark days ahead for sure.

Sunday 10- 60/34F sunny. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I took Cassie for a bike/run.

Called and talked to my brother Kevin.

Kjtel and Bodhi dropped by with tea and chocolate.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted a poem.

Monday 11- 59/30F overcast most of the day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to Twentynine Palms to pick up packages and do some shopping. When I stopped off to get my guest’s mail company the electricity was out. I found out later when stopping off to get my mail at the USPS building where the lights were on it that the outage was only in the northern part of the city. I went to four places trying to exchange my propane tank but none had any and have been out for a few days. I’ll have to try again in Yucca Valley tomorrow.

Kjtel and Bodhi dropped by to jaw a spell.

Tuesday 12- 60/38F overcast later in the evening. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Drove to the little store called Mesa Market on the corner of Aberdeen and Yucca Mesa Road and they had propane!

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted a poem.

Wednesday 13- 70/46F I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and hit on the heavy bag.

I did my studies and posted the APISOD... A poem, inspiration, or a story of the day.

Thursday 14- 71/48F very nice sunny day. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I took Cassie for a bike/run.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD... A poem, inspiration, or a story of the day 11-15-21 and now added the date :)

Friday 15- 77/48F another sunny day but expecting showers early next week. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I spent over an hour on the phone with Renogy Solar about the bad batteries I received from them. It’s been a little over four months since I first started my complaint with them. The last I heard before today was in early December with customer service telling me it would be handled soon. On the call this morning I told them I wanted this resolved today. Finally they gave up with me pestering them and I will be getting a new Renogy Li 12V 100Ah Smart Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery from them in trade for the bad batteries I sent back.

I did my studies, posted APISOD... A poem, inspiration, or a story of the day.

Saturday 16- 77/45F a very beautiful day to be outside. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I took Cassie for her evening walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD... A poem, inspiration, or a story of the day

Sunday 17- 74/44F another nice day in the neighborhood. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, hit the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile walk.

I spent two hours or more untangling wires I had collected over the years and a bunch of wires I had inherited from friends.

I did all of my studies and posted APISOD.

I started writing again late at night.

Monday 18- 71/43F nice day again. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

Kjtel dropped by and we sat in the lounge chairs and looked at the clouds blow in overhead. We took her dog Bodhi and Cassie for their evening walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD... A poem, inspiration, or a story of the day

Tuesday 19- 56/46F a bit of sprinkles. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

Mary Hellen and Steve dropped off 2 bags from the USDA food distribution. One for David and another for me that I gave to my guest, she really appreciated it because she just lost her food stamps. I thought it was nice and totally unexpected that they brought me a bag. :)

Wednesday 20- 61/48 some rain here and there. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a 1.5 mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Checked my email and USPS had delivered a package to my mailbox on Lear Ave. I drove down there before anyone could steal it. It is a DC Water Heater Element 12 Volt 250 Watt for solar panels. I’ll be testing this out for a hot water heater.

I did my studies, posted APISOD... A poem, inspiration, or a story of the day

Thursday 22- 68/43F a little cloudy but mostly sunny. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I finally received the replacement 12V 100Ah Smart Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery for the two bad gel batteries I bought from Renogy. It took about four months to work things out with Renogy and a lot of my time on the phone with them.

I hooked up the DC Water Heater Element to my old 55watt panel I've had for over 35 years to test it out. It somewhat heated the quart of water I had it sitting in after two hours. I’m going to hook it up to two new 100watt panels to see how hot the water will get.

Stopped off at Dave’s on our walk and chatted with him for a spell.

I called my old friend Larry Carlock and we yammered on reminiscing of things and times gone past.

Friday 22- 64/39F with lots of wind and gusts up to 35mph. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on cleaning and organizing my pantry.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD... A poem, inspiration, or a story of the day

Late in the night in heavy winds the hummingbird nest fell out of the tree. I was out there in the cold trying my best to tie it back onto the tree branch with thread and clothespins.

Saturday 23- 54/39F with wind, dark clouds, and lots of showers later in the evening. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I was relieved when I noticed the hummingbird had started a new nest using parts of the old one.

Kjtel and Bodhi came by to pick up her packages, and have coffee and a short visit.

Sunday 24- 58/40F more rain and wind. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I continued to work on cleaning and organizing my pantry. I am also making a space on the desk where I can work on arts and crafts... soldering electric parts, stuff like that.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Monday 25- 47/35F rain really good; no leaks. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag. It’s too dang cold and windy to take Cassie for a mile jog.

Cassie caught a rat today! She’s a bit overweight and I've been trying not to feed her so much, so now she goes out and hunts.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Tuesday 26- 54/37F cold wind. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Wednesday 27- 55/36F just plain old cold. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to JT to see my friend Richard Soos.We exchanged our published books. It was so very nice to see my friend.

Kjtel and body came by for a visit and a walk.

Thursday 28- 64/39F cold and windy. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag. Took Cassie for a walk over to Dave’s.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Friday 29- 56/35F very cold, windy, and overcast with a touch of rain here and there. I did my stretches and 100 crunches.

My Mini-split air conditioner arrived. Because of the wind I’ll check it out tomorrow.

Saturday 30- 59/37F sunny but still a chill in the air. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I unpacked the Mini-split and everything was in order. I started reading the instructions. I will have to build an electrical box and install a double pole breaker to get 240AC to power the unit. This will take some time to get all the parts I need.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a nice long walk.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

I did my studies, posted APISOD...

Sunday 31- 64/45F I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells, core trainer, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Called and yacked with my Brother for an hour or so.

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December 2020

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 21:50:23 GMT

December 2020

***************** Poems and stuff for December 2020 ***********

As the last rays of 2020 are extinguished for good and a new year arises from those ashes of what has been a tumultuous year that brought ruin and despair to many, let's all come together to be the change needed to create a better life for all on our little planet 🙂💗

~RD

In these times of civil unrest, plague lockdowns, and an unknown future for our nation, focus on what you already have and not on what you want.

~RD

These COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns are giving me an excuse for not getting done the things I want getting done 😕

I need to change this...

~RD

When you cannot defend yourself there is always someone there willing to help... that is if they can get past the gate 🙂

~RD

It's remarkable and alarming how the cell phone has changed our society over the past 20 years in comparison to Covid 19 taking only a few months...

~RD

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Tuesday 01- 67/35F with sunshine and no wind. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I assembled my new router table.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did a 100 more crunches.

I changed the sugar water in the hummingbird feeder; they’ve been hanging around for a bit too long this autumn.

I addressed and signed all my Christmas cards ready to send out.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Wednesday 02- 66/34F. I did my stretches.

I went to town and got gas, picked up my guest’s and my mail, refilled 2 tanks of propane at Dollar General, stopped off at Staters, and then onto Burger King... got quite overwhelmed and was glad to get my ass home.

Thursday 03- 61/34F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile bike/run.

Friday 04- 66/33F I did my stretches. I drove to Joshua Tree to pick up my guest’s prescriptions.

Saturday 05- 66/35F I did my stretches and 100 crunches.

Sunday 06- 69/42F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Monday 07- I did my stretches, 100 crunches, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to pick up my 10” miter saw at Home Depot. I assembled it when I got back home.

Took Cassie for a mile bike/run.

Tuesday 08- I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I climbed up on top of my trailer to fix the vent I recently installed.

I drove down to my mailbox down on Lear to get my mail.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Wednesday 09- 69/40F some clouds. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk. Dave came over to disconnect his water pipes from my system because he’s getting a 2500 gallon water tank delivered. Later in the evening, me and Cassie took a walk up to see his new tank.

Thursday 10- 69/37F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a walk.

I patched my left-front truck tire. Had to use 3 patch stripes because the hole was so big.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Friday 11- 58/39F with overcast skies. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I got the spare tire off the truck to fill it up with air and found it had broke the seal around the rim and all the air came out; not very happy about that.

I drove down to my mailbox down on Lear to get my mail.

Jordan and Tia

Saturday 12- 66/32F very windy! I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a walk.

Since the wind was blowing hard I worked inside on my computers updating them and fixing a nonworking one.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Sunday 13- 58/37F a little cold but nice for someone used to the heat of the desert. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I cleaned out the area where the old Homelite Generator I was given after my friend Stoney had passed by his family. It has been over ten years or so since it was started. I checked and cleaned the air filter and then the oil; it was low but clean and good enough for my test to see if it’d start. Three pulls of the rope and she sputtered and stopped; a good sign. I checked the fuel cock and added more choke, pulled once and she coughed, struggled for a bit, and then came to life like a finely tuned machine. I kinda knew it would start right up because Stoney was a master mechanic and would have had the generator ready to go for a long cold winter; for me, it had been a long winter since his passing. I think that’s why I put that generator out of my mind for so many years and haven't until now started it; time for me to move on. Solace

I painted the bottoms of the little trees I have growing in the yard so the rabbits won’t eat the bark.

Stevie Vallerale, a long time neighbor I first met when I moved up here to my little desert cabin is moving away to Illinois to live there with family. Matt, her son and my friend is driving her there in his van towing a trailer with all her belongings. They are avoiding at all cost flying there during a pandemic. I will miss Stevie very much.

Monday 14- 61/37F windy but not as bad as Saturday’s wind. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, and took Cassie for a walk.

I spent most of the day cleaning my wood stove with a wire brush and then going over it with an oil rag. Later at night I fired it up to cure the oil I put on the stove; smoked the whole place up but I was ready for the smoke having done it before and had all the windows open.

Tuesday 15- 59/35F cloudy. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, and took Cassie for a long walk.

My Guest and I went to my guest’s post office, Burger King, and then to WalMart to do the drive through pick up.

We were shorted groceries on our trip to WalMart’s drive through: when we got home we found instead of a 15lb turkey we were given a tiny 5lb turkey, among other things like pies and bread set to expire that day! I mean, hey this is Christmas dinner we’re talking about! Now we’ll have to make another trip to town to pick up what was missing; something I truly wanted to avoid.

Wednesday 16- 64/38F clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Thursday 17- 65/40F early morning dark clouds but clearing out by noon. Kjtel came by early to chat.

My guest got a $35 refund for the tiny turkey, the day old bread, and the old veggies we were given on Tuesday from WalMart.

So, we drove down to Stater Bros in Twentynine Palms and did our shopping there and picked up a nice big Butterball Turkey! We then went to Burger King to get the 2 for 1 special they have going; I like the fish sandwich.  

Friday 18- 61/36F sunny and a little breezy. I did my stretches, 100 crunches, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I used the miter saw for the first time and cut 6 2x4s at a 45 degree angle to put on my south facing patio; I was done in 20 minutes. It would have taken me more than 2 hours if I didn’t have the miter saw minutes to cut them. I painted all the ends and will let them dry and screw them on tomorrow.

Saturday 19- 64/39F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I installed the 45 degree miter cut 2x4s on the outside south patio.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

Kjtel and David came by to chat.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Sunday 20- 70/41F sunny. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk, and then later we went on a bike/run; Cassie really likes to run with the bike.

I painted all the new braces I cut and screwed in the last few days... all done now.

Monday 21- 73/40F

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I drove to Home Depot to pick up my new RYOBI bench saw.

Here it is... The Great Alignment: It's amazing to think that Jupiter is 551.37 million miles from Earth, and Saturn is 1 billion miles from the Earth... And Jupiter and Saturn are separated from each other by 456 million miles! Yes, it is amazing to me that these celestial bodies all align up on our Winter Solstice ❤

Tuesday 22- 76/39F windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a walk. I would have gone for a jog but it was just too windy for my dog.

I assembled my new RYOBI bench saw after hunting around for an hour to find the instructions...

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Wednesday 23- 59/32F sunny but cold. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I spent some time wrapping gifts for friends.

Kjtel came by with her dog to give me money for the welding equipment we both bought from Harbor Freight. We were walking back to her house when we met a new neighbor Glen. We were standing around yapping when David walked up, so here’s most of the neighborhood right here on Winters RD and Borland Pass. FedEx delivered our welders about a half hour later after leaving the group and I put it in the back of my car and drove it over to her house but the gate was locked. She’ll have to pick it up herself tomorrow.

Thursday 24- 56/36F cold and cloudy with evening showers. I did my stretches.

Kjtel came by to exchange Christmas gifts and pick up her welder, thick leather gloves, and welding hood.

Friday 25- Christmas Day! 62/37F sunny and nice. I did my stretches. Kelly cooked all day to present for dinner a proper Christmas meal with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and an array of side dishes. Everyone got stuffed on the yummy turkey including Cassie. My little sis Leeanne called to get caught up on what we were doing. My friend Kula called to chat, and then I called my sister Lynn to yammer on about old times growing up.

Saturday 26- 68/41F sunny and nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and beat on the heavy bag for a short time, and took Cassie for a bike/run and stopped off at David’s to jaw for a spell before we continued our bike/run.

I assembled my new welder.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Sunday 27- 63/39F mostly sunny. I did my stretches.

I was taking Cassie for a walk when we noticed a car getting stuck down at the slab airbnb where many cars get stuck in the soft sand and dirt parking there. I helped them get their car unstuck doing it my way by digging out the dirt in front of each tire; works every time. The two Russians, Vialian and Sergio thanked me, one girl there watching said I was very strong; kinda made me laugh and feel proud at the same time.

Monday 28- 55/36F evening rain. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and beat on the heavy bag for a short time, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Kjtel came by with Bodhi to chat. We then took both our dogs for a walk to her house like we do most times when she visits.

I installed the new rear basket on my Rad Runner E-bike. Now I am ready to test riding the bike all the way down to Stater Bros in Twentynine Palms some 13 miles away. Kjtel said she’d have her trailer ready in case the battery dies out. Just have to wait for good weather.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Tuesday 29- 56/37F. I did my stretches.

Audrey called me. We yammered on and on for way over an hour catching up on family stuff. We don’t get to talk too often, so when we do it’s a marathon of a call.

Wednesday 30- 61/36F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and beat on the heavy bag for a short time, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I set up a 30watt solar panel to charge the 12 volt lead battery system but I got a late start on it and I couldn’t test it out because the Sun set.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Thursday 31 (New Year’s Eve)- 59/34F cloudy with wind. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a long walk.

I connected up the 30watt solar panel to the battery and let it charge. I’m thinking I have 3 12V 8AH lithium batteries that can be hooked up together giving me 24AH that can replace the lead acid batteries. I’ll work on this tomorrow.

I got all ready and at 11:50PM me and my dog Cassie walked out the door into the cold night to run out 2020 and run into 2021. See ya all next year!

***********************

comments

November 2020

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 05:28:36 GMT

November 2020

Poems:

We need to take responsibility for our actions and not blame others for our failures. We have to learn to think for ourselves, to sort out the facts on our own, and not rely on others to do it for us.

~RD

Our fierce visceral struggle with reality, our fight with God and the Devil between right and wrong, existence or annihilation, our search of some greater truth and unbounded knowledge versus an unremarkable life, a war that rages on in our minds, endlessly tormenting us will finally be decided and laid to rest, not by you, me, or anyone else for that matter.... but by death; the ultimate jury.

~RD

A difference of opinion over Politics isn’t something you should ever lose friends or family members over... it’s like; you believe in fairy dust and unicorns and I believe in ogres and trolls... get over it and search for the love that’s gone missing in your life.

~RD

If I say I don’t give a shit it probably means I do give a shit because if I didn’t give a shit I wouldn’t say anything.

~RD

****************

Sunday 01- 80/49F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Monday 02- 84/50F I did my stretches. Just not feeling up to doing anything.

Tuesday 03- 88/56F and clear. I am still feeling ill but a bit better.

Wednesday 04- 90/57F and clear with a few clouds rolling into the evening. I am feeling much better today! I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Dave came over for a visit and then Kjtel and Bodha came by and we all sat around in my front yard and jawed away for a spell.

Thursday 05- 88/58F with clouds. I did my stretches.

Friday 06- 86/51F more clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Saturday 07- 60/44F high winds with sprinkles. I did my stretches.

Sunday 08- 59/37F high winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Monday 09- 58/34F cold. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile run.

I spent much of the day cutting wood for my wood stove to keep me warm through the winter.

I did my studies.

At 6:05PM there was adid it sound like a fully automatic weapon?

the way it ripped sounded like one to me but I was mighty excited going for my 38 SW yeah... when I hear them reload it was a ripping sound slightly different than the first

very loud... I swear I thought it was right outside cause I saw the flashes

they don't care... I've seen folks without Army training do some dumb shit

usually, they fire them off near the mountain south of us

out here they don't care that much

I don't think they would hear you with their ears ringing

The police were already here talking to David. he didn't mention us but the police saw our footprints all over the place and asked him about them. David says he didn't see anyone else.

They just left half hour ago

it's the first time anything like this has happened this close to me

Tuesday 10- 62/37F nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I took Cassie for a mile jog but as I came around to Dave’s house there was a detective investigating the shooting last night and asked if I wouldn’t mind answering a few questions; I didn’t mind at all.

Me and my guest went to Twentynine Palms to pick up packages at the post office and do some shopping at Stater Bros.

I did my studies.

Wednesday 11- 67/40F sunny. I did my stretches and exercised with the 15lb dumbbells. Took Cassie for a walk up to visit David to see how he’s doing after last night’s terror in the streets of Copper Mountain Mesa.

I did my studies.

Thursday 12- 69/41F nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did some of my studies and finished up my Anatomy coloring book after having it for almost if not 30 years.

I did the poop patrol; there was a lot to clean up.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Friday 13- 72/48F nice day with a few clouds moving in. I did my stretches and took my Cassie for a walk.

I worked outside in the garage trying to organize and toss what’s not needed and put things that are together in their respective spots.

Now that I have the Anatomy book all colored in and completed, I started training on my AI NVIDIA Nano computer.

Saturday 14 73/44F a beautiful day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked around the outside of my home raking, stacking wood, painting, and fixing things; I was really tired when I finished late in the evening.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Sunday 15- 76/46F a bright sunny day. I did my stretches and went right to work in the yard cleaning out the junk and making it all neat and tidy... still have a long ways to go.

Monday 16- 81/49F gosh, what a fine day it was. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to work cleaning in the yard and building supports for the solar array.

Tuesday 17- 84/50F another wonderful day in the high desert. I did my stretches. I’m still working framing the solar panels.

Wednesday 18- 82/49F a little breezy. I did my stretches and went to work aligning the solar panels so they are tilted more to the south.

Thursday 19- 75/43F a nice day. I did my stretches. I hooked up the new antenna and got all my missing stations but I lost all the Korean, Spanish, and Chinese language stations I really didn’t care to watch anyway. I think it has to do with the new ATSC 3.0 over the air format because this new antenna is tuned for it.

I dropped by neighbor Dave’s house and he had set up an archery field with two stacks of hay with bullseye targets on each. I told him I had purchased a bow a few months back and never found the time to practice. He let me shoot off a few and I hit the target twice.

Friday 20- 76/44 slight breeze but mostly fair. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked around the outside of my home raking, stacking wood, painting, and fixing things; I was really tired when I finished late in the evening.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Saturday 21- 76/49F some clouds. I did my stretches.

I did the laundry and continued to work cleaning up the yard and tossing junk away.

Sunday 22- 75/45F cloudy. I did my stretches.

I washed my car.

My guest ordered a few food items off of WalMart’s online store for pick up tonight. We drove there and picked up her order which was a very covenant way to do our shopping. I stopped by Home Depot to get a few things I needed to complete my plumbing job I started. I am plumbing a drain to the indoor shower and sink and running it to the desert willow outside; nothing goes to waste around here.

Monday 23- 73/44F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I finished the plumbing for the shower.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells

Tuesday 24- did something but forgot to write it all down.

Wednesday 25- 69/42F a bit windy. I did my stretches.

Thursday 26- 60/40F again another day I forgot to write anything down.

Friday 27- 61/34F cold and windy. My new ebike arrived today.

Saturday 28- 65/36F windy. I did my stretches.

I spent the day assembling my new bike.

I took Cassie on a mile bike/run on the new bike.

Sunday 29- 69/39F. I did my stretches. Dropped on over to Dave’s place to shoot some arrows and hit the target a few more times than the last time I shot.

I took Cassie on a mile bike/run.

Monday 30- 68/39F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, beat on the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I installed the vent cover to my trailer.

I took Cassie on a mile bike/run.

Kjtel came by with Bodie for a chat with me and Cassie.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells.

comments

October 2020

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 09:04:29 GMT

October 2020

******************* Poems for October 2020 *************

Compassion is known by many words; caring, kindness, love, companionship, empathy... becoming aware by living in the moment and awakening of your benevolent self. Finding and letting go of selfish egotistical thinking will bear the fruits of lasting friendships, relationships, and a better happy world for all.

~RD

When no one is coming to save you:

I saved a girl who was swept along a fast-moving river. Everyone else just stood by at the riverbank and gawked while I, without thinking, jumped in the swift turbulent waters and saved her life almost losing my own...

Most times we have to depend on others to save us; farmers, laborers who work the fields, truckers who haul the product, stockers and cashiers at the stores we shop, United Auto Workers Union who build the cars we drive, roughnecks who work the oil rigs, refinery workers, gas station attendants where we pump our gas, police, firefighters... and on and on and on. These are our heroes, the ubiquitous workers who escape our notice; I celebrate them.

17th-century poet John Donne wrote “no man is an island,” and that also includes women.

The best advice I can give is to be prepared for any disaster that nullifies all of the above and don’t become a wanting needy victim when The Event hits. Have a pantry stocked full of food. Store extra fuel for cooking and the car; you get the idea. Hopefully, The Event won’t come in your lifetime. Peace <3

~RD

Let me be brief and to the point; to wish a person dead is just plain wrong. There’s a line that separates decency from pure evil, a line separating coherent discussion from nonsensical yelling, spitting, and rioting. If someone crosses this line because of some deep racial hate or radical political beliefs... Please UnFriend me immediately on FaceBook and any other social media.

~RD

I’m not very good at putting things away where I won’t forget to find them again.

~RD

Little pieces to a grander puzzle, fragments of memories long in the past, shine through belated wishes and self-indulgence that a good friend has passed. Words I ponder, seeking to relieve, the loss I was missing, until this day came.

~RD

*******************************************

Thursday 01- 101/66F hazy smoke. I am not feeling well from that pneumonia shot I had last Tuesday.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did some of my studies.

I took Cassie for a short walk.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late-night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Tonight is the full Moon that washes out the stars and the planets above in the heavens. So not much to see in the nightly sky for a few nights except the Moon.

Friday 02- 102/64F mostly clear. I thought I’d take a day or two off from my exercises. I worked cleaning up the battery room where I store a lot of my stuff. Cleaning it out created a lot of extra room that I can definitely use. I started taking apart my old Dobsonian 12” telescope that was mostly destroyed during a really bad storm we had around ten years or so ago. Once I removed the heavy primary mirror, and not dropping it, found there was quite a bit of dirt caked upon it that I carefully washed off with a water hose and should have taken a picture of it before I did. I think it’s about time I get that sucker fixed up and outside looking at the heavens.

Saturday 03- 102/63F thick smoke again. It was an easy workout day for me; I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 25 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Today I took the whole primary mirror assembly apart to clean everything really good. I washed the mirror in the kitchen sink, it’s heavier than it looks, taking great care not to rub on it. I’ll have to find a cleaning fluid to get it all shiny, so it’ll be reflecting light gathered from the heavens again. I worked on the primary cradle breaking it down and cleaning every part and adding a little oil to the screws. I took a level to balance the cradle with the set adjustment screws, and then popped the mirror back in and leveled it all again. I boxed it all up so dust wouldn’t get on the mirror. Bit by little bit, I’ll get it done.

Kjtel and Bodhi came by for a spell in the evening to chat and walk the dogs.

Sunday 04- 100/64F hazy. I did my stretches. Day Three: Wash day for the 12” Dobsonian.

I removed the secondary mirror, the focuser, the finderscope, and its support from the optical tube and put them aside. I then took the optical tube outside and gave it a good scrubbing and washing down, letting it dry out in the sun for a spell. Later late that night I took apart the focuser assembly and cleaned it along with the finderscope and the secondary mirror. It’s nice to see progress on this old Dob :)

Monday 05- 98/64F hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbell, and took Cassie for a late night jog up the hill and back. I wanted to go for a mile but I was a little concerned that my twisted foot still needed more time to heal from my September 28 stumble.

Sat outside for a spell and saw this really bright meteor zip across the sky and faded away in the distance.

Tuesday 06- 98/64F still hazy smoke from fires with some clouds overhead. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Day Four: I dismantled the Dob’s mount and found most if not all the fiberboard will have to be replaced. The edges where the screws fix in were rotted from water getting in during that bad flood of ten or more years ago. I’ll have to make a trip down to Home Depot to obtain the materials and build a new more steady mount with plywood and not the cheap fiberboard the scope came with.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I finished cleaning out the battery room and it looks really nice. I need more shelving built for storage.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and felt confident my right foot was good enough to go the whole mile, so me and Cassie ran a mile in the darkness of the night.

We sat outside looking at the Andromeda Galaxy and other nightly wonders..

Wednesday 07- 96/63F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my studies.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells. I decided not to run tonight to give my right foot a rest

Thursday 08- 98/63F cirrus clouds overhead coming over the mountains from the west. I did my stretches. Taking a day off to let my body rest...

I did my studies.

I worked on my computers putting Linux Mint on two of them.

I took Cassie for a walk and stopped to talk to David, our new neighbor.

Friday 09- 90/60F with a really thick haze of smoke. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Saturday 10- 91/60F still thick with smoke. Because of the bad air quality I only did my stretches, my studies, and I took Cassie for a short walk.

Sunday 11- 89/61F with light haze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my studies.

I took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run.

Monday 12- 94/62F smoky. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Went to the post office but it was closed for Columbus Day.

I did my studies.

I took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run.

Tuesday 13- 98/64F I did my stretches and100 crunches.

I did my studies.

Post office

I took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening workout doing100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches.

Wednesday 14- 97/63F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my studies.

I took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Thursday 15- 97/65F with smoky haze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my studies.

I took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Friday 16- 92/60F hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

UPS delivered my new table and two chairs! It took me about a little over an hour to put it all together. Looks really nice. Haven’t had a real sit down to eat table since the early ‘70s when me and my friend Mike Vasquaze rented a duplex on Francisca Avenue in Redondo Beach. One of the two girls was a prostitute who lived next door we suspected because of the red light outside and the foot traffic. They were cordial with us and seemed like good people. The other girl was shy and naive I felt. She brought home a baby seal from the rescue she volunteered at that kept everyone awake at night because of its crying.

I did my studies.

I took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and ran a mile with Cassie. My right foot is feeling much better after letting it rest for a few days.

Saturday 17- 96/63F smoky. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Sunday 18- 98/62F smoky. I did my stretches and walked Cassie. Called Kevin and had a nice chat, and then Paula returned my call and I talked to her for a long spell.

Monday 19- 95/60F smoky from the dang fires... when are they going to be put out. I did my stretches and that was about it except taking Cassie for a walk and my studies.

Tuesday 20- 94/59F hazy smoke but not as bad as the last three days. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my studies.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and ran a mile with Cassie.

I sat outside watching the Orionids meteor shower until 2AM.

Wednesday 21- 97/59F almost clear! I can see the mountains to the far west. I did my stretches and 100 crunches.

I needed my truck running so I could pick up a few things from my neighbor Jeff’s house who sold it for a pretty penny and is moving out Nov. 1st. I had started it up two days ago to make sure it’d be ready for today. Well, the truck wouldn't start. I tried several things to get it started but no go. I decided to call Jeff and tell him I couldn’t make it at noon and if I did get it started later I’d call. I put the battery on a charger and went off to do other things. At around 3:30 I tried starting the truck and this time it coughed a few times and turned over running. I was then able to fill the tires with air and drive down to Jeff’s.

Thursday 22- 90/57FI did my stretches and 100 crunches.

Friday 23- 89/56F hazy smoke. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I drove Kelly to Yucca to pick up her meds. We shopped at the 99 cent store where you have to look at the tag to make sure it’s only 99 cents; I found this out at checkout. We went for the $4 special at Stake & Shake but they wouldn’t honor the cupion. We had to go all the way through the Drivethru, turn around and go get double cheeseburgers at Sonic Burger. Probably not going to Stake & Shake again.

After getting home and putting all the groceries away I took my Cassie for a bike/run.

Saturday 24- 85/54F mostly clear. I did my stretches.

Sunday 25- 75/45F hazy with a marine layer. I think this winter is going to be very cold and stormy because of the fires spewing and belching out great gobs of smoke and ash into the atmosphere... it's just a thought but the way things are going it'll probably happen. I don't do well in the cold. The weather turned Saturday evening. In the morning there was a marine layer that moved into our area, imagine that happening in the hi-desert! I could feel the change; we went from hot to cold within a matter of minutes! Other folks mentioned they felt autumn arriving last night.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag. Took Cassie for a bike run and visited David, my new neighbor.

My guest and I went over the voter pamphlet and did our due diligence filling out our mail-in ballots. Tomorrow we’ll drop them off at the post office when we run some errands in town.

Monday 26- 60/46F and very windy. I did my stretches.

I took my guest Kelly to Twentynine Palms to fetch our packages and mailed our ballots at the post office. But first, we stopped off at the DMV to drop off a license plate that was found on the dirt road. Then on to the post office, and then we went to Burger King to get their 2 for 1 $4 special.

Tuesday 27- 78/48F breezy with light clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag. Took Cassie for a bike/run and visited Kjtel and her dog Bodhi for a spell.

I did all these little nick nacks around the house with a lot more to do before the bad weather hits. I climbed up onto the roof to patch a leaky hole, did some laundry, and repaired a few things. I need to fire up the generator tomorrow or the next to cut some wood for the stove.

Wednesday 28- 81/49F light breeze. I did my stretches.

Fixed the 12V DC tire pump. Fixed my flashlight

Did my studies.

I decided to lay off FaceBook for a spell: I'll be taking some time off from FaceBook to work on a new book I need to get done, and a few songs to finish writing.

To be honest with you, I have found the past couple of months on FB very bizarre and taxing to my psyche and I believe others feel the same; on the one hand, I have dear friends and family who will vote for Joe Biden and on the other, I have the same who will vote for Trump. I have already been unfriended on FaceBook for having a voice by a few folks I love; they are welcome to Friend me again anytime. I just wanted you all to know that I Love each and every one of you no matter how you vote or your beliefs, and it is not worth unfriending a good friend over a difference of opinion. Some may think Love is too strong a word for me to use here, but I cannot think of any other appropriate word to use. I believe very strongly that we need more of it in our world and in our lives. I will always try to remain true to myself and maintain a positive outlook on life.

I may check in on you here from time to time...

You can reach me on FB Messenger if you want to talk.

Love you all ❤ Bob Deloyd

10/28/2020

Thursday 29- 80/50F a very nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag. Took Cassie for a mile jog.

Moved two bad batteries out of the storage room to be packed up and sent to Renogy.

David came by for a chat.

Jimmy called and we yammered on and on.

Did my studies.

Friday 30- 83/51F. Not feeling all that well. Been only getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night for the past few days. Called the online Doctor and had a chat with him. He told me it was okay to stop taking fenofibrate and see if that helps.

Saturday 31- 87/55F... still not feeling great but the Doctor said it’ll take a few days to get the fenofibrate out of my system.

comments

September 2020

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 06:56:00 GMT

September 2020

Tuesday 01- 107/82F hazy skies. I did a light workout: I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and punched on the heavybag.

I didn’t do much today. I could have started up my studies again. I haven’t done them in a week or two, maybe tomorrow I will. I have been working on a couple of new songs I made up working on the words and chords.

The Moon was too bright for me to go outside and gazed out at the universe.

Wednesday 02- 105/75F I did my stretches.

I drove over to visit my good friends Larry and Bonnie over in Landers.

I then drove to Home Depot to get some potting soil for the compost toilet.

Thursday 03- 110/84F and hazy. I did a heavy workout: I did my stretches, jogged a mile, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and punched on the heavybag.

Friday 04- 111/79F a nice breeze to cool me off. I did my stretches, jogged a mile, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and punched on the heavybag.

I did all my studies except French... I am reconsidering learning it because I’ve tried and it seems to me if I ever had to learn it I’d have to go to France or Quebec and talk to those folks there.

I did yoga, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for an evening mile jog.

Saturday 05- 112/81F hot! I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and punched on the heavybag.

I did my studies.

Took Cassie for an evening walk.

I took a picture of the Sunset this evening... lots of smoke to the west from the El Dorado fire near Yucaipa.

I just saw the Moon rise up in the eastern sky and Mars was right next to it, like Mars was riding atop the Moon across the heavens...

Sunday 06- 113/83F heavy with smoke from the El dorado fire finally made its horrid way to our little community that blocked out the sun and made my lungs hurt, nose run, and my eyes sore. You couldn’t see much over a mile it was so thick. I did my stretches

Monday 07- 115/82F with heavy smoke. I woke up to smoke-filled skies this morning. With all the riots, pandemics, hurricanes, heat-waves, and fires going on, I now believe the Mayan calendar was off by 8 years.

I did my stretches

Tuesday 08- 115/84F heavy with smoke. I did my stretches.

UPS delivered the new battery for my scooter and I put it in now something else is wrong and it will not start. I’ll have to recharge the new battery tomorrow.

Wednesday 09- 86/61F Can you believe it! Finally a break in the heat! Yay!

Wow! What a change in the weather! I got up this morning and the temp was 68 degrees and all the smoke that's been choking us had blown away... thank goodness because I don't know how much longer I could have taken being cooped up in the house not able to finish projects I had started before the heat spell that lasted for months. I was able to do my exercises in the heat if it was under 106F degrees but this heavy smoke stopped all that. The hottest days on record combined with the smoke made it seem like Hell himself/herself has risen out of the bowels of the Earth to invade our beautiful desert.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Feels good to get out of the house and jog in the fresh desert air again.

The new battery I put in the scooter was dead when I tried to start it this morning. I charged it up and tried starting the scooter but it wouldn’t go. Seems it’s not getting fuel to the carburetor. I wasn’t planning to spend anymore time on this, so it’ll have to wait until some future date. I called my insurance company and told them to take it off my policy.

I worked on building a battery box with lithium batteries of six batteries of 12v 8ah. When I get it done I’ll have a 48ah 12v system in a battery container.

I did my evening exercises with the 10lbs dumbbells.

Linda and then Jeff came at the same time with their trash to put in my dumpster. Almost couldn’t get their trash all inside.

I did my nightly exercises with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Thursday 10- 91/63F. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did all my studies. I decided French would be just too difficult finding the time needed to study it would take away from my other projects.

The only local news around here is from a radio station and the Hi-desert Star newspaper of which I used to post my weekly column. Both are online now. I do go to Google News feed to glance over what's happening in the world so I stay informed but only a few articles I actually open. So, I'm not entirely ignorant of what's going on in the world. I like to pick what I find interesting and not to be spoon-fed my news :)

Friday 11- 94/66F hazy light smoke from the fires. I did heavy exercises today: I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and hit on the heavybag.

Jimmy made a quick stop off at my home to say hi. He was up here signing papers to sell his house here. I hope this isn’t the last time I see my good friend.

I spent most of the day washing clothes and bedding.

Remembering an old friend:

It's been 15 years now since your passing and I still tell people of your magic screwdriver. We were working on Joice's old truck that was always falling apart and you'd fix. Well, something went wrong with the engine and it accelerated while you were working on it. "No problem," you said as you held up the magic screwdriver and stuck your head under the hood. It began to whine even louder to high-pitched complaining shriek that my dog Blackie ran off and I stepped back a few feet. I thought the engine was going to rattle itself apart or blow up. I had a quick idea come to my head and I reached into the driver's side and turned the key to off. I had kidded you about that screwdriver ever since... even now!

I miss you, Mr. Kern Watson.

Saturday 12- 97/67F smoky hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and hit on the heavybag.

Sunday 13- 100/69F smoky hazy. I did my stretches.

I walked up the hill to meet my new neighbor. His name is Dave and seems to be a nice guy. Right now he’s living in a very nice trailer and moving things from his old residents down near LA to his desert property here in wonderful Copper Mountain Mesa.

Monday 14- 101/70F smoky hazy. Not feeling well. Must have been something I ate. I did a little work on the pool cover but that’s all I did.

Tuesday 15- 102/70F smoky skies. I did my stretches.

Wednesday 16- 103/70F heavy smoke!

I took Cassie for a short walk and just stayed inside.

Kjtel and Bodhi came back from their trip up north and dropped by to say howdy and tell me about their trip.

Thursday 17- 104/70F hazy smoke. I did my stretches.

Me and my guest, who have no means of transportation, went to town to get our blood work done at LabCorp. I weighed myself, 179 pounds, while waiting for the nurse to draw my blood. I seemed to have lost some weight, I hope that’s a good thing. The nurse had two orders to draw blood, one from my Doctor and one from the Wellness Clinic. She said she would have to draw them twice for each order. I asked her if they had the same requests for what was to be tested. She said yes. I told her just to draw one order because they’ll both get the same report.

We then drove across the street to get our flu shots at a drive-thru flu clinic. Then it was on to Vons to do our shopping- I like Vons because there aren't that many people there wandering around getting in my way and crowding me. We were all done except to pick up her prescriptions at Rock’s that took almost a whole hour waiting outside in the hot smoky weather. Stopped off at Steak and Shake to get burgers, fries, and two Dr Peppers. We were gone for four hours and I was pooped but managed to take my poor Cassie for a walk before I collapsed on the bed.

Friday 18- 105/71F damn hot with heavy smoke. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 50 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

Took Cassie in the car with me when I went to the mailbox. I need to get her comfortable riding in the car again, so when we go on vacation it won’t be much of a problem for her... and for me.

In the afternoon I worked out with the 10lb dumbbell and did 50 crunches.

In the evening I did my stretches, worked out with the 15lb dumbbells.

I took Cassie for a midnight mile run and did 50 more crunches.

At the end of the day I had done two-hundred crunches because I saw a video when I woke up with Arnold saying you need to do two-hundred crunches a day. I think he meant all at once but I spaced them out at fifty four times a day.

Saturday 19- 102/69F smoky in the morning with light haze later on in the day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

In my evening workout I exercised with the 10lb dumbbells and did 50 crunches.

I took Cassie for a light night mile run and did 50 crunches.

Sunday 20- 102/70F hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I called my brother Kevin and we chatted for a spell.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 50 crunches.

My guest barbecued pork and made some yummy hummus for dinner.

Dave, my new neighbor, dropped off his generator for safe keeping while he’s gone to Newport beach.

I took Cassie for a late night mile run and did 50 more crunches. I like running at night... in the daytime I seem to only jog but at night I run.

I went outside after our run like I’ve been doing almost every night this month when the sky was dark and clear. I watched Mars

Monday 21- 102/69F smoky hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

Tuesday 22- 104/77F smoky. I did my stretches and a 100 crunches, I thought I’d lay off the heavy lifting of weight for a day.

In the evening I did 100 crunches.

I took Cassie for a mile night run and then came back to sit outside and watch the stars.

Wednesday 23- 99/68F smoky. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

Kjtel and Bodhi David

Thursday 24- 101/67F smoky. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I took my guest to Twentynine Palms to get our mail and also she had to take care of some business while we were there. We did some shopping at Stater Brothers and the 99 cent store. We drove through BurgerKing and got 2 burgers. I got a fish sandwich that was so yummy I want to get back there as soon as I can, and she got the chicken sandwich but after I let her taste my fish sandwich she wished she went for it instead.

I was kinda burned out from all the shopping and stuff that when we got back all I did was relax and enjoyed a movie on Netflix.

Friday 25- 97/66F still smoky. I just don’t do any jogging on smoky days. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I helped my new neighbor run a water line to tap into my water system which he can use until he gets his own water on his property.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Saturday 26- 99/66F hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run.

Sunday 27- 98/67F 100 very smoky. I did my stretches and crunches morning

Talked to Kula and then my Brother

100 crunches evening

Monday 28- 96/65F clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 225 crunches, and beat on the heavybag.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

I did my late night stretches and worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run. I twisted my right ankle halfway through the run and had to continue to run the rest of the way home. I’ll not be doing any running or jogging for a few days. I can say that I did 325 crunches today!

Tuesday 29- 92/66F a little bit hazy. I kinda wonder when these forest fires are going to stop. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, 100 crunches, and beat on the heavybag. Cassie and I went for a bike/run up to our new neighbor’s house to say hi. She really loves to run with me on the bike. After our visit we then continued to ride for another mile.

I went to my appointment to get my pneumonia shot in Yucca Valley. On my way I mailed off Tom Merrit’s late birthday card. His birthday was in January, so I guess you can say I’m late and at the same time really early. There was a nurse checking patients for the covid flu before they could enter the building. I was in and out in about 20 minutes and happy to get out of there!

Went shopping afterwards, got a pizza and some fried chicken to eat while me and my guest watch the Presidential Debates tonight. The debate lasted 90 minutes but seemed like it’d never end. I’m really not all that political and I believe it was more of a yelling match than a debate; both men were really rude to one another. Who won the debate? It doesn’t matter because both sides will say their side won and use little bits and pieces as talking points in their election campaigns.

I did my evening workout with the 10lbs dumbbells and did 100 crunches.

Wednesday 30- 101/67F smoky hazy. I felt kinda sick from that pneumonia shot I had yesterday, so I kicked back and read most of the day. I did do my morning stretches and 200 crunches though.

Kjtel came by with Bodhi for a little visit.

*************** Poems for September 2020 **********

Looking at the past through photos capturing a moment in space and time makes me feel a kinda peace and reminiscence of the lives of those in the photo and their stories left unwritten, untold and have vanished into dust over these long years until I write something...

~RD

I would not consider any religion that didn’t take the notion of all creatures having souls and this is what gives us life versus lifeless inanimate objects like a stone or a toaster. My playful dog Cassie agrees.

~RD

Sometimes we walk alone upon this earth of ours and miss the companionship of our fellow homo sapiens. Reminiscing on their joys, antics, and laughter they brought in these times of our silent wanderings...

~RD

Your mind is connected to your tongue, so you are responsible for what comes out of your mouth and once spoken you have to live with the consequences 🙂

~RD

*************************

comments

August 2020

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 18:35:51 GMT

August 2020

Saturday 01- 113/84F with heavy smoke. I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

I did my yoga, exercised with the 15lbs dumbbells, setups, and took Cassie for an evening mile jog.

At midnight I did my stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, setups, and went for a fast run up the hill and back with Cassie.

No studies today.

Sunday 02- 109/75F totally smokey. I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

I did all my studies throughout the day, even the French lesson.

I talked to Kevin for a spell.

I took Cassie for an evening mile jog.

At midnight we went for a walk over to check on a neighbor’s house.

Monday 03- 109/76F very smokey. I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

I heard that Judy and Denny were at their cabin and hopped on the eBike and rode on over for a short chat. They are doing well and getting things back together after some bad people in the area broke into their house. They know who it was because a neighbor followed the tire tracks to the house. A friend went over there and warned them that really bacd consequences will befall them if they steal from this area again.

UPS delivered my Harley carburetor brand new in the box.

I did yoga, exercised with the 15lbs dumbbells, setups, and took Cassie for an evening mile jog.

At midnight I did my stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, setups, and went for a fast run up the hill and back with Cassie.

Tuesday 04- 106/76F windy and smokey. I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

I called BFF Lary Carlock to wish him a Happy Birthday. We chatted for a short while because his daughter and others came down from up north to visit him. He will call me on my Birthday and we’ll have a longer jawing session.

I did yoga, exercised with the 15lbs dumbbells, setups, and took Cassie for an evening mile jog.

At midnight I did my stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, setups, and went for a fast run up the hill and back with Cassie.

Wednesday 05- 103/69F windy and very smoky. I did my stretches and took the day off from most of my exercising because of the smoke in the air.

I did all my studies.

I took Cassie for a midnight run up the hill.

Thursday 06- 102/68F I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

Took Kelly, my guest, to pick up medicine for her cat at her private post office in Twentynine Palms.

Jeff brought his Dell laptop over for me to fix. He has been hacked. I had him call his bank and other important sites and have his passwords changed... What I will do on his laptop is a clean install and set it back to factory specs since it's a new computer and he hasn't any pictures and documents on it. Otherwise, I would have had to try and get his data off first and then do a clean install.

Took Cassie for a mile jog at sunset. I exercised with the 10lbs weights and did situps.

Friday 07- 100/70F still a lot of smoke. I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

Had to curtail my outside activities because of the smoke in the air, but I restringed my punching bag and hung it up. It’s been lying there waiting for me to do this for a few years. Now I have something to take my aggressions out on ;)

Oh, and I did my laundry.

Saturday 08- 103/74F hazy with smoke. It’s my Birthday, so I took the day off.

My BFF Larry Carlock called to sing Happy Birthday to me. So did a few other friends. I guess they’re getting back at me for singing Happy Birthday to them throughout the years. I spent a lot of time thanking the friends leaving birthday wishes on FaceBook.

Sunday 09- 107/75F smokey but not too bad. I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

I finally decided that the pump to the pool was good enough to drill a hole into the tub. I’ve been reluctant to drill the hole until now.

I talked to Kevin for a spell.

I took Cassie for an evening walk.

Monday 10- 106/71F clear and hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and punched the hell out of the punching bag.

Swept out the patio of all the dead debris it has collected over the years. I should make this a monthly chore... I’ll put it on my list.

Another thing I’ll add to my monthly list is cleaning the kitchen counter- it gets mighty dirty and I seem to forget to clean it. Maybe I should put this one on a weekly list? Okay, I’ll make up a weekly and monthly list and hang it somewheres so I can see it and check it off.

I did some electrical work in the bathroom connecting up a new wall plug. Took me more time finding all the tools and parts than it took to finish the job.

I took Cassie for an evening mile jog, and then I did setups and worked out with the 10lbs weights.

Garbage truck is coming tomorrow, so I took out all the trash. I let my neighbors use it because I seldom fill it up myself and there is extra room. This time it was pretty full before I got my own stuff in.

I took Cassie for a midnight run up the hill, I exercised with the 15lbs dumbbells and did setups.

I completed all my studies for today.

Tuesday 11- 106/73F clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and pounded on the punching bag.

I did some more work on the electrical wiring of the house trying to find out what is causing the drain on my batteries. I took a long soak in the tub afterwards.

I did all my studies for today.

I took a very long evening walk with Cassie.

I took my dog Cassie outside to watch the Perseids Meteor Shower. I’ve been watching the night skies for the past two months, now that the weather is nice and clear. There has been a celestial race going on between Jupiter and Saturn to see who gets to the Teapot (and asterism in Sagittarius) first. Jupiter is in the lead with Saturn right behind with Mars rising out of the eastern skies getting into the race rather late.

I saw some nice fireballs bright red in color and many fainter ones. The meteors were spaced about 5 to 10 minutes apart but there were times when they rained down minutes apart. It was a very pleasurable four hours watching the show the night sky put on for me and my dog. I'll be out there again tonight :)

Wednesday 12- 108/81F and muggy. I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and hit on the punching bag for a spell.

I did my yoga, worked out with the 10lbs dumbbells, and jogged a mile with Cassie. I took a long soak in the tub to cool down.

I took Cassie for a midnight run up the hill and then finished with a jog around the block. I worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells and did some situps. We sat outside for an hour or so watching for any more meteors, saw a few but not as many as yesterday.

I didn’t do any studying today because I wanted to write a story I have an idea for.

Thursday 13- 107/81F again muggy. I went to the post office in Twentynine Palms to pick up a package containing another ToughBook CF-30. I filled up my little Spark and then headed over to Stater Bros. to get some supplies and made a stop at Burger King for their 2 for 1 special. I ordered 2 Whoppers, one to give to my guest living in her trailer out back.

I took Cassie for a midnight jog around the block that I found out was a whole mile. I didn’t run up the hill like I started to do this month because of the mugginess of the weather. We sat outside for an hour or more but the sky was getting some clouds moving in.

Friday 14- 111/84F afternoon thunderstorm and downpour. I did my stretches, and a lite workout on the core trainer, and the weight bench, I hit on the punching bag for a short spell.

I was working on my Harley in the process of removing the gas tank when all hell broke loose with a torrent of rain and lightning and thunder. I had to shut all my electric down just in case lightning struck near.

The internet was really slow, almost at dialup speed, so I turned off the modem and decided to do my studies instead.

Took Cassie for a late evening mile jog around the block. The sky was clear when we got back and we sat outside for a long period of time watching the magnificent night skies.

Saturday 15- 112/85F with lots of humidity. I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and hit on the punching bag for a spell.

Found out the Hard Drive Caddys for my two Toughbook CF-18 I ordered were IDE and not SATA connections. I messaged the seller and his response was mostly too bad for you. He wanted to sell me the right ones for $30. I will give a bad review. Now I have to figure out a way to connect the two SATA drives up to IDE. I found a converter at Amazon and ordered it.

Sunday 16- 114/85F with humidity. I worked on my Harley out in the garage where it was 114 degrees. I finally got the gas tank off and found a mess of tangled wires. Whoever worked on this before must have been on some kinda hallucinogenic... plus she's been in storage for a few years and collected a lot of grunge. I have my work cut out for me but I'll get her done. I soaked in the tub for a long while to cool off.

I talked to Kevin for a spell.

Around 10PM I took Cassie for a mile jog around the block. When we ended our jog I kicked back in my Star Chair (my new Zero Gravity Reclining Lounge Chair) to gaze at the stars. I saw several meteors, a couple of satellites. But right now I am observing Delta Cephei in the constellation Cepheus with my binoculars. It is a variable star with a period of 5.33-day rise and fall of brightness and is the star that gives its name to Cepheid Variables. After watching it for a few days I believe the star is at its lowest brightness. This is the type of variable star Edwin Hubble found in the Andromeda Galaxy in 1923 (called the Great Andromeda Nebula at the time and was thought to be inside the Milky Way) and this changed forever the way we view the universe. The Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away and the farthest object you can see with the naked eye.

I finished formatting and uploading my eBook “The Copper Mountain Mesa Series” all 626 pages of it to the Amazon Kindle site. The paperback one has been out for a few months now and it is one heavy book!

Monday 17- 114/89F clear skies. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell. Just too dang hot and humid to do anything else. I did some of my studies, and sat outside around midnight to watch the night sky for around an hour or so as the clouds moved in. I was able to catch a glimpse of Delta Cephei and it appeared to be even dimmer than last night's observation.

Tuesday 18- 110/84F I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell. Just too dang hot and humid to do anything else.

Bonnie and Larry came by early to visit after going to the USDA food distribution to give me the food they didn’t want. Jeff came by with my USDA bag of goodies.

Battery failure of my ASM batteries. I’m guessing they got too hot. I switched them out with the 100AH lithium ion battery.

Lightning caused a fire in the JTNP around 1pm Tuesday and I took some pics of it as it first started and sent them to the Hi-Desert Star newspaper where they used them in their first post of the fire. It was called the Sunfair fire that ended up consuming 100 acres. I also received an email from the Star to use my name for my response to an unrelated story.

Wednesday 20- 111/83F with a few clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell. Again it was just too dang hot and humid to do anything else.

Thursday 20- 111/82F mostly hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell. The weather was again too dang hot and humid but I did manage to go climb up the ladder to the roof and replace the little 10watt solar panel to my fan with a 20watt panel that arrived today. The tools I had to work with became almost too hot to handle but I managed to finish the job.

I figured out a way to change the ToughBook CF18 drive from IDE to SATA by using a converter I ordered that arrived today. Unfortunately with the converter added to the SSD drive wouldn’t fit in the caddy. I came up with an idea that I could shorten the SSD drive, so I took it apart to find the actual drive workings take up less than half of the enclosure. So I put everything back together and was able to load up Windows XP; success!

Cassie and I ran up the hill but walked down instead- it was still 97F at 11PM.

Friday 21- 104/82F mostly hazy and lots of humidity. I did my stretches. I thought I needed a few days of rest. I played with my computers.

Saturday 22- 103/81F hazy with a few clouds. I did a light workout today- I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell.

I took Cassie for a short walk and sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while.

Sunday 23- 108/80F I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a spell.

I called and talked to a few friends; Larry Carlock, and yapped with my Kevin for a long spell.

I sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while.

Monday 24- 110/85F I did my stretches.

I sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while.

Tuesday 25- 110/80F I did a light workout today- I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell.

Linda Joan passed last September

UPS delivered my batteries I ordered and a few items were missing. I called Amazon and they will take care of it.

The trash truck didn’t pick up my trash. Maybe they were full and will get mine tomorrow.

Did a mile midnight jog with Cassie and then sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while.

Wednesday 26- 110/78F with a hot wind blowing out of the southwest. I did heavy exercises today. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell and jogged a mile without Cassie; just too hot for her paws.

I waited all day but the trash truck didn’t show. I will call them tomorrow to complain.

I found that most of the batteries didn’t have a charge when I checked them with my voltmeter.......

I did my stretches, worked out with the 10lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for an evening mile jog.

I did my stretches, worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a midnight mile jog. I run up the hill as fast as I can and then jog the rest of the way. This makes a total of 3 miles I jogged today. I sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while.

Thursday 27- 108/77F clear. I did light exercises today. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell and jogged a mile without Cassie; just too hot for her paws.

I went to Yucca Valley with my guest tagging along to pick meds and do some shopping for supplies.

I took Cassie for a night run but I was so burned out from going to town we only made it to the top of the hill and back. I sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while.

Friday 28- 107/77F with a nice breeze blowing out of the SW. I did light exercises today. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell and jogged a mile without Cassie; just too hot for her paws.

I worked around the house doing the little things that take bunches of time.

I restrung my guitar- sounds a lot nicer and eazy on my fingers with the new Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings.

I took Cassie for a night’s mile jog and then sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while.

Saturday 29- 104/72F I did heavy exercises today. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, I punched on the punching bag for a short spell and jogged a mile.

I talked to my Sis Lynn for over an hour about things and times gone past.

I did my afternoon exercises with the 10lbs dumbbells, situps, and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I worked out with the 15lbs dumbbells and took Cassie for a fast run up the hill and then jogged the rest of the mile.

Finally I saw a brightening of delta Cephei after weeks of watching the night sky for it to change in brightness.

Sunday 30- 102/74F. I did my stretches. Rest day :)

I talked to Kevin for a spell.
I took Cassie out for a short walk, and we sat outside watching the stars until they were washed out by the Moon.

Monday 31- 102/78F. I did a heavy workout: I did my stretches, jogged a mile, core trainer worked out on the weight bench, and punched on the heavybag. It feels good to have the heavybag all fixed and ready to take my frustrations out on.

I did my afternoon exercises with the 10lbs dumbbells and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my nightly exercises with the 15lbs dumbbells and ran up the hill as fast as I could and then jogged the rest of the mile with Cassie. I don’t know how she can be overweight with all the running and jogging we do. Maybe I should give her smaller portions when I feed her.

I sat outside and gazed out at the universe for a while. The Moon is so bright it washes out the stars, tomorrow it will be full.

************** Poems for August 2020 *****************

Take pause my friend, move beyond the rhetoric of the day, beyond this veil of promised dreams built upon lies by those who try to persuade and deceive us. Resist the urge to be a follower of what’s popular at the time, become independent, evolve to live in the moment, and become your own person. Do not live in the delusion of others.

~RD

Pull and drag, rip and tear your way out of that chrysalis you’ve created sheltering your inner self from the outside world. There’s no need to be afraid anymore...

~RD

I edited this from July to make it more meaningful:

We make our own roads... some are two-legged highways leading off to faraway places while others are jammed freeways going in circles...

~RD

***************************

comments

July 2020

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 23:24:43 GMT

July 2020

Wednesday 01- 99/69F with a nice breeze. I woke up early, did my stretches, had breakfast, and then went right to work Snow Coating the rest of the roof. I used up a whole 5 gallons. I have another 5 gallons left I might use to put a second coat over the whole roof or until it runs out. I was kinda beat after finishing the roof and took a 2-hour nap. I didn’t do much for the rest of the day.

Thursday 02- 102/69F clear. I did my stretches and walked Cassie.

I went to Twentynine Palms with my guest to go to the post office and get supplies at Stater Bros supermarket.

Staters Bros was full of people and I felt my anxiety start to kick in, so I grabbed everything I needed and checked out while my guest spent another 45 minutes inside. I waited for her outside where I met a man called Elton. He was collecting donations for disabled Veterans fund. We had a nice long chat. He was in the Marines and I was in the Army and we found out we were both stationed at Fort Leonard Wood located in the Missouri Ozarks, but decades apart. We had a lot in common to talk about and it was a great way to pass the time while waiting for my guest to complete her shopping.

We got back home, I helped my guest with setting up water to her swamp cooler. It was too late to test it out.

LOL!!!! I just bought CF19 for $45 and the caddy was $35! Had to laugh when I read your comment. Mine has an IMEI and MEID numbers for cell which I hope to get working. There's a crack on the lid which I'll bend back into place and use some hot glue on the insides. I got lucky when I charged the completely dead battery. It held a charge for several hours when I ran Puppy Linux on it. Now I wait for the caddy and an SDD 128 to load an OS on it. :)

Friday 03- 104/73F clear with a late afternoon breeze. I did my stretches.

My guest’s swamp cooler wasn’t getting water. Spent a few hours troubleshooting it and finally had to disassemble the dang thing to find the float wasn’t working. I adjusted it, put it all back together, and it’s working fine now.

I did my studies

Cassie and I jogged a mile in the evening. Just too dang hot on her paws in the daytime. I took her out for a midnight jog up the hill and back too.

Saturday 04- 105/74F clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, and weight bench.

I kicked back. My guest cooked up hamburgers for dinner. We watched the fireworks from my property.

Sunday 05- 107/73F clear. I did my stretches.

Batteries refrigerator

I am gathering up some old French language books I had bought in the past, maybe over 30 years ago, and I’m going to delve into learning the French language.

Monday 06- 111/80F clear. I did my stretches, and weight bench, too hot for anything else.

Funny this should happen now. I received a notice from Rosetta Stone that I can upgrade my course “Spanish” I bought ten years or so ago to the online course for free! I changed my course to French and put in my activation code from the old Spanish box and they accepted it! Now I have the French course to follow.

Tuesday 07- 107/70F kinda hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged over a mile. I had to leave Cassie behind because it was too hot for her feet.

I went into my small pool for about the third time since I had it filled... felt mighty refreshing after all that exercise.

I did my studies throughout the day.

I lifted 10lbs dumbbells and took Cassie for a nice evening walk.

I took out my small reflector telescope for the first time this season and spied on Jupiter and Saturn in the southeastern sky. Then I pointed the scope south to the red supergiant Antares 554 light-years away in Scorpus. Nearby was M4 a globular cluster a whopping 7,175 light-years distance. I saw a few satellites and meteors scoot across the sky during my stay outside in the summer night’s bounty of majestic stars and planets.

I did my stretches, exercised with the 15lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Wednesday 08- 105/70F hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged over a mile.

I did my studies throughout the day.

I lifted 10lbs dumbbells and did some yoga that I haven’t done for a while because of my sprained ankle.

Kjtel came by with Bodie for a chat and a nice long evening walk.

I started my French language online Rosetta Stone course.

I did my stretches, exercised with the 15lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Thursday 09- 107/74F clear. I got up early before the heat of the day to do my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on the house roof removing old panels and their supports. Tomorrow I’ll go up and put roofing tar on the holes.

I did my studies, but not the French lessons yet.

Took a nice evening walk with Cassie.

I did my stretches and took a midnight jog up the hill and back with Cassie.

Friday 10- 108/79F

I got up early enough before the heat set in to do my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my studies throughout the day; including my French lessons.

In the afternoon I did my yoga and exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells.

FedX came with some colored pencils my lovely Sis Lynn sent me... Thank you for your gift! Now instead of not having enough colors, I have too many to choose from.

I took Cassie for an evening walk.

We went for a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Saturday 11- 109/86F with scattered clouds and lots of humidity.

Today was a complete loss for me. I had a hard time sleeping Friday night because of the humidity and heat. I woke up after sleeping only an hour and took Cassie up to the top of the hill Saturday morning at 5:30am to see the comet but unfortunately, that was obscured by clouds :'(

I finally fell asleep and slept until 1pm and spent the rest of Saturday lying around. Really not what I wanted or had planned to do. I took a shower and then jumped in the pool.

Sunday 12- 114/83F a few clouds. I woke up late but did my stretches and jogged a mile anyways: It was 107F when I started.

I did my studies and French lessons too.

Kjtel came by for an evening chat and a short walk with the dogs.

Cassie and I went for a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Monday 13- 111/77F with strong winds out of the southwest. I worked out on the weight bench, and core trainer.

I took Cassie for an evening mile jog. She’s been cooped up in the house all day and thought we both needed to get out.

I did all my studies and even a French lesson.

I took Cassie for a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Tuesday 14- 106/73F with a nice breeze. I did my stretches and went for over a mile jog. I had to leave Cassie at home because the ground was too hot; she stared at me while I left.

Linda Harter dropped off some trash and we chatted for a long spell.

I did all my studies throughout the day; French is very frustrating.

I did yoga, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, and then took Cassie for an evening walk.

I did my stretches, exercised with the 15lbs weights and jogged up the hill and back with Cassie.

Wednesday 15- 105/74F. I did my stretches.

I drove to Twentynine Palms to pick up some packages. I stopped at Desert Supply and purchased 7 feet of hose and a hole drill so I can hook up the pool filter system.

I installed a new SSD hard drive and Win 10 on a Panisonic Toughbook CF-30.

I took Cassie for a walk.

Finally sighted the comet in the northwest at 9 PM. That’s a hell of a lot better than getting up at 5 AM!

I did a few of my studies and a little French.

I took Cassie for a night jog up the hill and back.

Thursday 16- 105/74F clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

I am definitely not an astrophotographer but here are some images of the comet NEOWISE, Jupiter, and Saturn I took tonight with my little telescope and my iPhone's camera. I will remember to clean my lens next time.

Friday 17- 107/76F clear with a nice breeze. I did my stretches and exercised on the weight bench. Too hot to run and I’d have to leave Cassie behind sulking in the shadows, so I’ll take her for a jog later.

I installed a new SSD hard drive and Win 10 on a Panisonic Toughbook CF-19.

I did all my studies, even the French lessons.

I took out the larger 8” Dobsonian to look at the comet NEOWISE; trial and error.

I took Cassie for a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Saturday 18- 110/77F a bit hazy. I did my stretches.

FedEx delivered the 4 100 Watt solar panels I ordered.

I watched a few videos explaining how the kidneys function. I am at that part in my anatomy studies now.

I checked USPS online and found they delivered some computer parts I need for the Panasonic CF-28 I’m repairing and drove to my mailbox on Lear to get before the mail thief took them.

I started repairing the CF-28 with the new hard drive but couldn’t get the BIOS to recognize the USB CD. So, I had to load everything by floppy disk. I happened to have a set of Windows 95 and loaded all 20 of them but unfortunately it came up with an error code and failed to load. SO, I ended up loading first DOS 6.5 and then Windows 3.1 successfully. I kicked back playing solitaire for a short spell and then decided to order a CD drive. I found one on Ebay for $12.

I stayed outside after I took Cassie for a walk, grabbed a chair and my binoculars and sat for a long spell as the night progressed into darkness and the comet NEOWISE became more brilliant.

Sunday 19- 112/78F a hazy kind of sweltering heat with winds to cook you to the marrow. I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench; no jogging today.

I went to work on the pool pump I am trying to install. I could only spend 20 minutes outside and then cool off inside; kinda made me feel like one of those workers at the Chernobyl reactor when it went critical. The wind increased to the point of blinding me with lots of dust and sand as I put on the pvc pipe glue. This caused me to fumble the glue spilling a good portion of it on me. I found that using petroleum jelly was the best way to remove the dried glue from my hands. Anyways, I decided to quit after I found a small leak and tried to fix it. Hopefully tomorrow when I go to work on the pump I don’t find an empty pool.

I did all my studies throughout the day and into the evening.

NEOWISE

Monday 20- 109/77F with a stiff breeze. I did my stretches; after working in the heat I thought I’d rest today.

I took my time cleaning and rearranging my house.

I took Cassie for an evening walk.

I did a few video how-tos.

I took Cassie out for a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Tuesday 21- 110/75F with a nice breeze. I did my stretches.

Jeff dropped off a box from the USDA Food Distribution for me.

I worked on the pool pump and got it all setup and working. I topped off the pool with the gardenhose, and then jumped in to cool off. The pump seems to work fine.

I did most of my studies, even the French, throughout the day; had to help my guest who had a medical problem and didn’t get to all of them.

Cassie and I went for an evening mile jog after I exercised on the weight bench and core trainer.

I was outside looking at the brightening comet when I saw 20 or more satellites, I lost count, coming out of the northwest following one another in the same orbit spaced out about 15-30 seconds apart. The only thing I could believe this could have been was a Spacex’s Starlink deployment. Other than Starlink, I do not know what the satellites came from in such a formation.

Wednesday 22- 108/79F nice. I did my morning stretches; because of the heat I’m doing my exercises in the evening.

I did all my studies, even the French.

Thursday 23- 103/70F hazy. I did my stretches and worked out on the weight bench.

I did my studies

I took Cassie for an evening mile jog and then a midnight jog up the hill and back.

Friday 24- 102/72F hazy. I did my stretches and worked out on the weight bench.

I made a trip down to the pharmacy to pick up my guest’s meds. As I was opening up the gate to leave

On my way I came upon a tow truck

Jeff came by

I took Cassie for a jog up the hill and back. At the top of that hill is the neighborhood dogs’ message pole and I always linger around as Cassie sniffs and pees on those spots left by male dogs.

Saturday 25- 105/73F another summer lazy day. I did my stretches.

I wrote some poems.

Went to watch a movie at Kjtel’s house with some friends.

Sunday 26- 107/77F a few clouds. I did my stretches and worked out on the weight bench.

I gave my brother a call and we talked for over an hour about crazy things.

I took Cassie for an evening walk.

Monday 27- 106/74F I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

I did all my studies throughout the day, even the French lesson.

I took Cassie for an evening mile jog.

I cleaned and sorted cans in my pantry. The other day I grabbed a power bar and found ants were crawling around the bar. I tossed the bar after eating a forth of it once I discovered those creepy crawlers on my hands. I sprayed the whole pantry down with bug spray.

At midnight we went for a fast run up the hill and back.

Tuesday 28- 109/74F. Worked out on the weight bench, did my stretches and the core trainer.

Went to the post office in Twentynine, stopped to get gas and propane, and then on to Stater Bros. to pick up some supplies like food and such.

When I filled up the car I didn’t wipe my hands after handling the pump and I had to use the restroom and washed my hands afterwards. I arrived at the post office and realized this and squirted some hand sanitizer on the palm of my hand and reached down inside my pants and rubbed it on my private parts... it really burns. I guess that’s how paranoid I am getting, and probably everybody else, about the pandemic.

I did yoga, stretches, worked out with the 10lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for an evening mile jog; nice breeze blowing at sunset.

I did my stretches, worked out with the 15lb dumbbells, and ran up the hill and back.

Wednesday 29- 110/78F I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

I started working on my Harley taking the carburetor off and dismantling it. I went online to see about purchasing a rebuild kit for it but found a new one for my bike on eBay costing $56 with good reviews, so I bought it. If it works, Great, if it don’t, I can use parts off it to rebuild the one I already have

I did all my studies throughout the day, even the French lesson.

I took Cassie for an evening mile jog, yoga, stretches, and worked out with the 10lb dumbbells.

At midnight we went for a fast run up the hill and back.

Thursday 30- 112/82F I did my stretches, core trainer and worked out on the weight bench.

Kelly's little dog Ruffie had a heart attack while jumping up on her bed. I rushed over to her trailer and brought the poor doggie to my place and tried to revive him without any luck. We buried him with a few of his toys next to Lillie, another one of Kelly’s dogs, and Barney, where he will rest for eternity. I am truly going to miss that little guy.

Friday 31- 113/81F very hot and there is smoke in the evening air. I did my stretches. Because of the heat I thought I’d better cool it with the heavy exercising I’ve been doing lately except for yesterday when I was dealing with the passing of Ruffie.

************************** Poems for July 2020 ***************

We make our own roads... some are two-legged highways leading off to faraway places while others are jammed freeways going in circles...

~RD

To sail the seas to distant lands, casting our gaze upon faraway stars... to daydream of future adventures beyond the golden glow of our brilliant Sun, to become one with the universe and knowing for the first time we are not alone.

~RD

An old wedding dress spread neatly on a bed of cotton stuffing and wrought iron steel

Photo albums lie open to pictures of family and friends

A note was found the ink has since long dried

Whose words were thoughtfully chosen with love, respect, and pride

While her fragrance still lingers on that sweet-scented page

Of things that were wished for and gladly received

Of love that was given and always returned

Of a life that was promised and happily lived

Of dreams that were dreamt on lazy warm summer days

Undiminished are the whispers transpired between lovers in the night

The long sleep has come, the lovely old woman slowly closes her eyes and passes away

~RD

I am always looking back and looking forward to the future.

~RD

If you try to learn everything you will learn much about nothing.

~RD

My mind grows dull, laden with the burdens of criticism and undue utter contempt for my virtues by these merchants of a faithless society of which I have no control. Closing my eyes now, I am distracted by images of hate and despair planted there by uncaring communicators of false hopes and lies, if not in photos from the death and dying ghettos of my mind, then by words written down on rigid parchment with the blackest of inks siphoning off all luminosity in what was or pretended to be my soul. In a futile gesture to my nemesis for reason; my unyielding mind neither denies nor accepts a truce. My only recourse is to live out my days in this twisted tormented wasteland of my being and hope for redemption.

~RD

Personally, the only systemic diseases I have caught from my Forefathers are Freedom, Individuality, and the Right to Speak My Mind.

~RD

Music is poetry with an added dimension.

~RD

Instead of letting the media, Marxist, fascist, and politicians drive a wedge between the races, we should begin with ourselves spreading the truth and love we feel for one another. It’s the only way we can beat back these interlopers of hate.

~RD

Don’t try to be something you ain’t, instead, go for something you are and stop sailing against the wind near a rocky shore.

~RD

*************************************

comments

June 2020

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 04:11:49 GMT

June 2020

With all the craziness going on in the world I've been distracted and forgetful about a lot of important things. Now with the pandemic winding back up, we have protestors in the streets protesting for a good cause... and then rioters looting, and Antifa comes along taking over the protests with their special kind of hate and evil agenda. Who knows if we will ever get back to normal... whatever normal was in the first place. Living out in the desert I am separated from a lot of societies woes. Hope you all are well

Take care! Bob

Monday 01- 101/77F and clear. I went to the post office in Twentynine Palms to get packages. Filled up the little car with gas. Stopped off at Ace Hardware and then on to Stater Bros. to get some supplies.

Tuesday 02- 103/74F and clear. I finished painting the pool cover and put on the hinges so two halves will open. Filled it with water and jumped in... feels so nice!

Kjtel stopped by for a spell with Bodie to yammer with me.

Wednesday 03- 106/79 a few clouds.

Thursday 04- 112/80F a little overcast. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Friday 05- 100/62F overcast with high winds.

I got up out of bed and started right in on pounding roofing nails into the roof. The box says 726 nails and there were few left when I decided to stop around 7pm. I also helped my guest install a swamp cooler in her trailer.

Saturday 06- 88/62F with lots of wind. I received the news that My friend Mack Dodd had passed away. I had been going back and forth worrying if I should go see him, but he made the choice for me. I'll remember him as he was at our community parties. I did go see him a few times at the hospice and he didn't look that bad. I had a book I wrote to give him to read but then the pandemic hit and I wasn't able to see or give him the book I had written him into. I think he would have liked that.

Sunday 07- 82/62F with more high winds. When there was a low wind window for about two hours I went out onto the roof and nailed down the rest of the roofing.

Called and talked to Jimmy and then my brother Kevin.

Monday 08- 89/62F winds dying down around 2 pm. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Wrote a poem for Mack Dodd.

Kjtel my neighbor came by to jaw for a while.

I took Cassie for a night run up the hill and back.

I practiced on my guitar.

Tuesday 09- 91/63F and clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I got up on the roof and finished the last of the roll-roofing, taring, cutting, and nailing. I am totally burned out... I got kinda dizzy and laid down for a while. Feeling better now. I just have the trim to do and that’s enough for the roof, hopefully, for another twenty years.

Wednesday 10- 99/68F clear. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk. I took the day off to do my studies.

Thursday 11- 106/64F clear and windy. I did my stretch and took Cassie for a walk.

Went to work on the metal trim of the roof but I was only able to do about 20 feet when the wind kicked up. I was heated up anyways, so I quit and came inside to mess around in the house to do my studies.

Friday 12- 101/63F with high winds. I did stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I decided to rest today. I was just too burned out from yesterday’s work on the roof.

I took my scooter to the mailbox to pick up a package from eBay; an old HP 110 Windows 6 Classic PDA.

Saturday 13-

I finished tarring and nailing the trim strips I had and needed about three-four more strips to complete the job.

I took Cassie for a nice midnight walk among the stars.

Sunday 14- 94/66F clear. I did my stretches.

Monday 15- 100/69F clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I worked in the garage clearing it out... looks like it’ll be many days until I get it cleared.

My old friend Larry Carlock called and we yammered on for way over an hour.

Tuesday 16- 98/67F and clear. I did my stretches.

I worked clearing out and throwing trash away from the garage.

Something bit me, maybe a spider. It hurt really bad and I was sick for the rest of the day.

Wednesday 17- 95/67F another clear day. I did my stretches and took the rest of the day off.

Thursday 18- 98/69F clear. I did my stretches.

Me and my “gest” went to the post office in Twentynine Palms and then to Star Pharmacy to get her prescriptions filled.

I took Cassie for a night run up the hill and back.

Friday 19- 103/72F and clear. I did my stretches.

I almost have the roof covered in white Snowcoat to keep the heat down but ran out and need to purchase about 10 gallons more. Little by little I'll get it done.

Saturday 20- 103/74F hot and clear. I worked out on the weight bench.

I worked outside on the back patio for a spell putting up some structural braces.

Sunday 21- 105/75F hot. I did my stretches, lifted weights, and took Cassie for a short walk because of the heat. I’ll have to change my routine around because of the heat.

I worked around inside the house. Called and yapped with my brother Kevin for an hour.

I waited until the day cooled down before I took Cassie for a mile run and exercised on the core trainer.

Kjtel and our new neighbor Chisty came by and we chatted for a spell. Chisty is a writer and professional comedian. I gave her one of my poetry books. I walked both of them home but on the way I stumbled over a stone and hurt my left ankle. Later in the night it started to hurt so much I had to hobble around the house.

Monday 22- 106/76F clear. Woke up and the pain from last night's stumble really hurt bad. I did some little stretches but that’s about it.

I had a package delivered to my mailbox on Lear Ave and hobbled to my car to drive down to get it before the thieves did.

I got very sick off of something I ate and tossed up my cookies feeling very ill. It finally dissipated after a few hours and I felt better.

Tuesday 23- 107/75F clear and hot. I did my stretches. Still have a sprained ankle and feeling kinda weak after being sick last night.

I did my studies and cleaned up around the house.

Kjtel came by with Bodie to chat and take Cassie for a walk because of my sprained ankle I couldn’t.

Wednesday 24- 107/75F and clear. I did my stretches, core trainer and exercised on the weight bench. I’m still staying off the foot.

I worked on the camper and replaced the old roof vent with a new one. I still have to secure it down with putty and screws.

Thursday 25- 107/75F a little cloudy. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and took Cassie for a short walk.

I worked inside the house again messing around with my computers too. I did my studies.

I took Cassie for a midnight jog up and down the hill and back. My first time jogging since the accident with my left ankle.

Friday 26- 104/77F cloudy with some very light drizzles. I did my stretches, too hot to do much of anything else. I did do some laundry and a few things around the house.

I did all my studies.

My sprained ankle is getting better... slow jogged a mile with Cassie this evening. Resting and healing now is over... gotta work it out and keep it moving now.

Saturday 27- 107/76F clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile but I had to leave Cassie behind because the ground was way too hot for her feet.

I've been going through my notes I've written down for new books and poems. Doing a do-over on how I arrange my house putting things I want to do in easy reach. I also want to learn how to say hello in at least 5 languages. My list grows

Sunday 28- 100/66F with lots of high winds. I did my stretches.

Monday 29- 89/66 a little breezy. I did my stretches and jogged a mile and a half.

I went to my mailbox to pick up a package.

I took Cassie for a night run.

Tuesday 30- 92/69F very nice and pleasant day. I did my stretches, jogged a mile, and worked out on the weight bench.

I talked to a new friend I made who lives in Oregon for over an hour.

Later in the day, I drove to Home Depot to get 10 gallons more of Snow Coat for my roof and some fittings for the pool.

I did some of my studies.

I took Cassie out for a night jog up and down the hill outside my house.

*************************

I am only responsible for my own actions and nobody else's. I have nothing to apologize for in the past, present, or future that I personally have no control over. I find it appalling for anyone to take it upon themselves to apologize for me things I didn’t do. I am my own person!

~RD

Who's old?! We're as young as we believe ourselves to be even if our bodies tell us differently and our minds are far off daydreaming on a beach in Hawaii.

~RD

How can you be so mean and thoughtless, how could you be so cruel, to grow up before our very eyes, privileged young adults to face the world. Although you are amazing, it would be impolite for me to stop and stare, but to remind you of these facts of life, alone we all set sail. Upon seas of scattered wisdom, with malice and sword, you’ll ride the crest, with only luck and perseverance... and loathing at your backs. To be brazen on the stage of your forefathers, to slay the beast with its crown of thorns. In spite of your worst behaviors, you condemn those that came before, before the rumbling chariots, before the horseback thieves. So now it’s time they come out to haunt you all, the sullen, malnourished feeble patrons of the past.

~RD

The little things our minds pick up on, those bits of memories, old pictures, a cracked teacup, a lock of hair, these little keepsakes handled by those who left, helps us bear the burden of their passing. Their lives flash before us like a video on fast-forward. Reminding us of the warmth our departed friends bestowed upon us with these little mementos of their life. All we have left are these little keepsakes, tokens of a life passing that provides us the warmth and comfort of love we so dearly desire as we reminisce of lives gone by.

~RD

What may not be offensive to some may be offensive to others. I respect your sensitivity as long as you respect my rights to have an opinion...

~RD

Sorry... With all the crap going on in the world I can only come up with this? I think I need a new perspective...

Oh, the pain and suffering sorrow. Madness, crippled by filth and shame. Oh, these earthly demons come down to haunt me, peeling back layer upon layers of seething wickedness, reeking of pustulant pus embedded deep within my brain.

Oh, how severe my mental anguish, suffering, bleeds like raindrops to fill the void, left by walking shadows of a younger wilder intense soul, of what I used to be.

~RD

Tears of the fallen have dried in the sun, eyes that now stare unfocused to gaze at no one, soldiers lie on battlefields of faraway lands never to see loved ones through those eyes again...

~RD

Hiding in the shallow depths of my mind, growing ever darker like oil spilled on an ocean’s tranquil azure surface. Dire despair conveniently hidden I had thought, safely tucked away, now exposes me to my own dreadful demise; a friend has recently passed away just a few months younger than I.

We had once laughed at jokes and stories we’d tell of younger days gone by. The girls we loved, the troubles we were in, not normal lives be ours.

An asset to our little community, a friend to all he’ll now leave behind to be untethered from this Earthly realm taking wing to fly the skies.

We will kindly remember our Mister Dodd and sadly say goodbye.

~RD

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comments

May 2020

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 22:12:41 GMT

MAY 2020

Friday 01- 100/72F with evening winds. I’m just getting over being sick with very bad stomach pains. Must have been something I ate Wednesday night. I’m feeling much better but will take it easy today. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Saturday 02- 90/62F windy all day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I worked on the garage roof putting on the roofing felt. I have two rolls weighing 53LBs each up the ladder. I am totally beat. I must’ve smelled like a homeless person when I was done and took a hot soothing shower. Tomorrow (hopefully) I’ll do the roll roofing and hold it all down with Henry's Asphalt Emulsion and lots of roofing nails.

Sunday 03- 92/63F windy again. I did my stretches. Someone broke into my mailbox on Lear Ave. It was broken into last month, but this was worse. I don't believe there was anything but advertisements. I think the thieves are after those stimulus checks, but mine was automatically deposited into my bank account. I hope these people get caught, it's a federal offense to steal mail or tamper with mail boxes.

Monday 04- 91/62F clear and breezy. I did my stretches.

I’m going back up today and finishing off the garage. I am getting a late start today because I kinda way overdid it yesterday. A gust of wind came up in the evening and I had to fight to keep all that I had done from blowing away. I ended up with tar all over me. Somehow my dog got tar on her too. I finished the garage roofing around 6 PM. I am totally exhausted!

Tuesday 05- 97/65F. I did my stretches and took the day off.

Wednesday 06- 98/63F. Again, I did my stretches and took the day off.

I came out in the morning and found a beehive in my tree. I ran back into my house, grabbed my camera to record the event.

I started commenting on the hive when I remembered Cholla Needles Poetry wanted me to record one of my poems. I've been hesitant about recording a poem because I always sound like a robot when doing so.

Well, I decided right then and there since I was recording anyways to wing it and make something up as I went rambling on and on about the bees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THd11_Odhjk

Thursday 07- 100/66F hot and hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie. I met Christine, a new neighbor, on my jog.

The bees in the tree have moved on. I shall miss them... not!!!

Friday 08- 100/69F with a nice breeze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Saturday 09- 101/70F and hazy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk... just ain’t used to the heat yet and neither is Cassi.

I rode the scooter to get my mail at my box on Border Ave.

Sunday 10- 97/64F windy with some clouds. I did my stretches.

I rode the scooter to my other mailbox on Lear Ave, the one that was broken into last Sunday, to repair it.

Monday 11 92/59F and windy. I only did my stretches because I was going to go work on the roof, that is until the high winds came up.

I don't think we're out of the woods just yet with the coronavirus and I believe we should all keep up with the social distancing. There have been some who like to compare this virus to the flu, deaths due to drugs, or automobile accidents... it's not. It is a highly contagious virus and it'll come back to haunt us if we let our guard down. As I write this there have been over 80,000 deaths. Think about how many would have died if we didn't shut down the country and stayed at home. 80,000 would have been a drop in the bucket. People you and I know would have been dead. This is a pandemic and we should remember this fact when we start going out into the world again... be safe everyone, and keep doing what you have learned to do to stop this virus these last few months.

I leave the political out of everything if I can. I go on what I feel, not what others egos tell me how to feel.

Honestly, I think this might just be the beginning of something worse if we throw our caution to the wind. I didn't say such things in my post as to not alarm anyone, but I did hint. It may be nature's way of saying goodbye.

Tuesday 12- 89/60F with mid-afternoon winds. I did my stretches. I then turned my attention to the roof. I did the roof to the front porch and finished it as the winds came up. I am totally burned out from doing roofs. I still have some left to do. I am going to use up all the roofing materials tomorrow to see what more I need to purchase.

Wednesday 13- 85/59F with high evening winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I've been working hard on the roof these last few weeks laying down roofing, tarring, and nailing. I am exhausted by the end of the day. I'm almost done, just a bit more to do, and I ran out materials I need to finish... Looks like a trip to Home Depot next week or sooner. While I'm in town I need to stock up on some supplies at the supermarket.

Thursday 14- 88/61F windy. I did my stretches, walked the dog, and took the day off.

Friday 15- 91/63F windy. I was going to go to town, so I did my stretches and walked Cassie, but my guest waited to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday because of Memorial Day, so I decided to dig a trench for the drain to the kitchen sink and run it out to the little desert willow tree I planted last year. This digging and laying of pipe took me all day to do. I will finish burying it all up tomorrow.

Saturday 16- 95/66F breezy and hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Sunday 17- 94/63F I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks. I took the day off from any intensive labor or exercise.

I called my Brother to yap at him for a spell.

I took Cassie for a midnight walk.

Monday 18- 85/59F very windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I dug out and placed pavers from the patio to the small pool. Now there’s a walkway to the pool.

Tuesday 19- 75/54F cloudy and windy. I did my stretches and walked Cassie. Kjtel came over and she, Bodie, Cassie and I went for an evening walk together.

Wednesday 20- 82/57F with a little breeze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I started getting things ready to hook up the drain to the bathroom and run it to the big tree out back.

Thursday 21- 88/65F nice day. I took Cassie for a long walk.

Me and my “guest” went to Yucca Valley to pick up her meds. I finally dropped my Chevy Spark tire off at Big O Tire after going to 3 tire stores to get it replaced; it has a hole in the sidewall; I will pick it up tomorrow. Then we went to Home Depot to get some supplies to finish up my roof and other stuff I am working on. Then to Sonic Burger to eat.

I took Cassie for a walk when I got home. And then a midnight walk.

Friday 22- 91/63F and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Me and my “guest” went to Yucca Valley to do some shopping at Vons and for me to pick up my tire which Big O Tire had to replace. It was my first time shopping at a supermarket in this new era of post pandemic. Everyone was wearing masks and standing a more or less 6 foot distance apart. It felt a little stressful to me at first, but most people were kind and courteous.

Saturday 23- 94/65F windy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my studies.

I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

Cassie and I went for a midnight walk up the hill and back.

Sunday 24- 91/64F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I carried the 3 90 pounds each of roll roofing up the ladder on my shoulder like a gangster. I’ll probably be hurting tomorrow.

I did my studies throughout the day and finished the Molecular Biology book. I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

Cassie and I went for a midnight walk up the hill and back.

I also did my nightly exercise (that hasn't been so nightly) with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Monday 25- 96/67F and clear with a bit of breeze. Went right to work on the roof when I woke up and before it got too hot. I finally finished the whole roof except for too tiny eaves that I can do anytime next week. I do need to hammer in bunches of roofing nails on what I already did and then snowcoat the whole roof.

Later in the afternoon I mounted the new tire on the Chevy Spark and also patched a small leak on the rear passenger side tire.

My “Guest” cooked up steaks on the BBQ and we had Memorial Day dinner.

I did my nightly exercises and took Cassie out for a midnight walk.

Tuesday 26- 102/72F hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

In the late afternoon my stomach started to feel bad and I had to stop everything I was doing and went to bed. I was very sick for a few hours and when the pain and nausea subsided I was very weak for the rest of the day and into the night.

Wednesday 27- 107/75F windy. I did my stretches and walked Cassie.

Watched the scrubbed launch of the first manned SpaceX mission into space. I was very excited and then kinda bummed, but safety first.

Thursday 28- 109/76F cloudy. I did my stretches. Too hot for anything else.

I drew out a pattern on plywood for the cover to the small pool.

Friday 29- 106/72F cloudy. I did my stretches.

I cut out the pattern from the plywood.

Saturday 30- 104/71F and breezy. Very excited as I watched SpaceX launch their first manned mission into space to rendezvous with ISS space station.

I trimmed the plywood for the pool cover and got it ready to paint.

Sunday 31- 95/66F

Two lost dogs came to stay under the motorhome. At first there was only one I saw and tried to lure him into the yard. He was very friendly at first until he went under the motorhome and there was a female and he became really protective. I gave them water and food. I left messages on several sites about them. When morning came and I went out to feed them they had already left.

****************** Poems May 2020 ****************

It’s not how much of your brain you use but the time you spend using it.

~RD

I wish for a way to communicate, I wish there was a way to call, but you are so far beyond the veil of life, I think my message would fail, to reach across those many years, to seek out your tender smile.

I visit you in my dreams at night, I reach to touch your cheek, but like clouds dissolve in the desert skies, only vapor do my fingers meet.

I can feel you standing next to me, for fleeting moments your presence I sense, with words I faintly hear you say, but for now I must settle and remain content. Until we meet in a moment of time and space, where elves play, pixies flutter around, with imps that make us laugh. Fly past the midnight moon above, beyond the reaches of time, only then shall I caress and hold my love, in these strong loving arms of mine.

~RD

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comments

April 2020

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 20:01:44 GMT

April 2020

We've been having lots of rain this past month and should have plenty of flowers blooming soon. It is getting very green up here. I've been doing well, staying home mostly due to the pandemic and all that. I do my mile jog with my dog and weight bench almost every day except when the weather is bad. Writing and editing my books... stuff like that. Seems like there's not enough time in the day to get all these done. My neighbor Kjtel and I have been going out at 8 pm every night banging on pots and howling, I still don’t know why but she said it’s a good thing.

Wednesday 01- 84/53F clouds. Exercised on the weight bench. My hip hurt so I didn’t jog but took Cassie for her walks.

I did all my studies.

Thursday 02- 75/49F sunny day. I did my stretches, but I slept on my left side causing my hip to be very painful, so I didn’t do any other exercising. I will go back to sleeping on my right side.

Friday 03- 79/57F a tiny bit breezy but nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my laundry and some chores around the house.

I practiced my guitar.

Saturday 04- 78/50F sunny with late afternoon winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie. I did the poop patrol.

I did my afternoon exercises and took Cassie for a long walk.

I rode my scooter to my mailbox that was mighty full.

I did my studies throughout the day.

Cassie and I went for a night run up the hill and back. I did my sorta-kinda nightly exercises.

Sunday 05- 74/49F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

I did my afternoon exercises and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening stretches.

I finally finished re-editing and updating "Upon Ashen Roads: Betrayal and Resurrection," and will now wait a few days before I advertise and promote the book.

Monday 06- I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

I did my afternoon exercises and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my evening stretches.

Tuesday 07- 58/35F rained all day long. I got up at an ungodly hour of 8 AM to take Cassie for a mile run and do my exercises before the rain came down... must of timed it just right because it started raining when we were all finished.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

I made myself popcorn and hot chocolate tonight... going to kick back and watch a movie

Wednesday 08- 52/40F rained even harder during the night and into late morning creating Lake Lucille. I did my stretches and that’s about all.

My brother Kevin called and we jawed over an hour catching up.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

Kjtel came over and we took her handmade sailboat and our dogs down to Lake Lucille and did some sailing.

Thursday 09- 57/46F with lots of rain. I did my stretches and cleaned around the house.

Friday 10- 54/43F mostly rain and drizzles all day long. I did my stretches, practiced on my guitar, and did my studies here and there.

Saturday 11- 71/48F sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged one mile with Cassie.

I jumped on my scooter to check my mail down on Lear Ave. Seems like the postal service is doing what I asked, holding my mail and packages because there was nothing there in the mailbox.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

I did my afternoon exercises and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my nightly stretches.

Sunday 12- 78/54F breezy with a few clouds.

I did my stretches. My guest who stays in her trailer on my property cooked up a mighty nice Easter dinner. I got pretty stuffed. We kicked back and watched “Joker” , maybe not the right movie to watch on Easter...

Monday 13- 75/54F a few clouds and windy at times. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged one mile with Cassie.

Tuesday 14- 72/48F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged one mile with Cassie.

Kjtel came by with Bodie for an evening walk.

I did my studies.

Wednesday 15- 88/58F very nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged one mile with Cassie.

I did my studies.

I did my not too nightly stretches... gotta work on that.

Thursday 16- 84/55F very nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I fixed the flat on my truck.

I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

Friday 17- 79/50F with clouds and wind. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I did my studies.

Saturday 18- 76/51F and windy! I did my stretches. Messed around all day in the yard doing this and that and other things of unimportance. Took Cassie for her walks.

Sunday 19- 80/55F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

I did my nightly stretches.

Monday 20- 80/55F nice breeze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

Went out for a night run up the hill with Cassie and did some exercises.

Tuesday 21- 84/63F windy with scattered clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

My friend and neighbor Jeff brought me food from the USDA food distribution which was mighty welcomed.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

Went out for a night run up the hill with Cassie and did some exercises.

Wednesday 22- 88/62F windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

Took the rest of the day off.

Thursday 23- 89/66F sunny. I needed to brave the outside world and go with mask and gloves in hand down to the post office and pick up my packages they’ve been holding for a month due to the pandemic and my unwillingness to go down there myself. I’d say about 98 percent of the people there had masks on, but me and a few others were wearing gloves. We all stood six feet apart on these little lines of packing tape put down for that reason. It took about half an hour or more for me to get to the counter because there was only one employee trying to do everything. There was some mixup on my packages but it all worked out okay as I kept asking, “There should be more” and there was when he went back and brought out more of my packages. I thanked him. I told the people in line behind me I was sorry to have made them wait, they understood, some even made jokes about the post office as I walked out the door.

Friday 24- 93/65F getting dang hot out here. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I swept the floor of the entire house. Took out the small carpet I use in the living room and washed it down. I watered most of the plants outside. I took pics of all the flowers a FB friend asked me to do. I started digging out the hole for the 300 gallon tub.

I did all my studies throughout the day.

Saturday 25- 97/66F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

Did some cleaning around the house moving stuff I’m not using out to my storage trailer.

I did my studies throughout the day.

Sunday 26- 103/72F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

Continued to dig out a hole for the pool.

Evening dog walk with Kjtel

Listened to Astronomy Cast Lecture Ep. 558: Supernova SN 2006gy

I did my studies.

Monday 27- 96/65F sunny. I did my stretches.

I did my studies throughout the day.

Still digging that hole for the pool.

Tuesday 28- 99/69 sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged 1.5 miles with Cassie.

I finished digging out the hole for the small pool. I saw what Kjtel did with river rock around her pool and decided to do the same.

Listened to Astronomy Cast Lecture Ep. 559: The Surface of the Sun

Evening walk with Kjtel and Bodie.

Wednesday 29- 101/70F cloudy in late afternoon. I did my stretches.

Thursday 30- 96/66F more clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

****************** Poems April 2020 ****************

Sometimes I feel like leaving all material possessions behind... those things that tie me down to who I thought and others believed myself to be, and then emerge to raise high the sails, slip these mooring lines that shackle my heart to civilization’s trappings and drift silently into the promising darkness of night’s obscurity to be free to sail the seas again.

~RD

Don’t buy the dream, live it!

~RD

Uncharted

Yea these be dark times ahead... distant are those uncharted shores we sail... bleak be our dreams we wake in the wee hours before dawn... rise high the waves in turbulent waters... that crest our bow awash and rattle... tall mast down to her sturdy keel. With a lowly bucket to bail icy waters... bringing numbness to fingers and blunting our courage... but we do what we must... we do what we will it to be... to guide our way by stars of night, to navigate these seas of dread and sorrow... to keep our course, our eyes set on the horizon... our lives, our souls, our very being depends on our dogged determination to make it to this journey's end and be free to do it all over again.

~RD

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comments

March 2020

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 21:49:01 GMT

March 2020

I've been staying home except to take a friend to pick up her prescriptions. We both stayed in the truck and they brought her meds out to us.

I've been all set up for the big earthquake the geologist keeps telling us to prepare for. We've been waiting over 50 years for the damn thing to hit, so I have a whole lot of food stored away and don't need to go shopping. I only go to town maybe 2 or three times a month if that. I have always kept myself busy doing something as you can tell reading my online journal.

There was a quote I heard once... I think it was in an old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie. When asked “how does he find the time to do all the things he does”, Sherlock's simple reply was, "You don't find the time Watson, you make it."

Sunday 01- very windy.

Monday 02- 59/46 windy and rain.

Tuesday 03- 73/47F still windy with clouds.

Wednesday 04- 75/48F nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies.

I finished, hopefully, and published my book...

Wednesday night Cassie was barking and I went outside to investigate and saw in the sky to the south an orange glow like an orb with brighter yellow dots in a circle inside this orb. It moved in the direction of the Constellation Canis Major near the star Wezen. It was brighter than Venus. There were other aircraft in the vicinity of this orb. I watched this for about a minute or less. All of a sudden the orb kinda vanished and I saw what appeared to be a light of some craft shoot skyward from it. This was followed a few minutes later at 7:09 by two loud deafening booms. I have no idea what it was and haven’t read or heard anything about what I saw.

Thursday 05- 78/49F very nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies.

Friday 06- 80/50F a little cloudy. I was mighty sick last night. Must have been something I ate. I didn’t get to sleep until early morning and woke up around 2 pm. I went to the post office to pick up a package and went straight home and back to bed.

Saturday 07- 72/46F with clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies.

I did the poop patrol.

I did my nightly exercises.

Sunday 08- 67/43F sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

The hummingbird is back and visits me about this time every year. I put out the feeder filled with sugar they seem to like.

I did my nightly exercises.

Monday 09- 73/57F and overcast thick clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took a long walk with Cassie.

I did my nightly exercises.

Tuesday 10- 63/49F with rain all day long. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a short walk.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

Wednesday 11- 71/49F lots of clouds coming in. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

I tend to like everyone... The Jehovah's Witnesses came to my gate... they're good people... they come every week...

They know they're not going to convert me... Out in the desert, it's rare people drop by anyways so we chat about solar panels and electric bikes.... they hand me one of their flyers and leave...

This time they came by and I got on their case for being out and about with a Pandemic and told them to come back in a month or two and to stay at home. 　

Thursday 12- 64/44F heavy rains and thunderstorms. Winds are kicking up to 50+ MPH. Lake Lucille had made her appearance to unknowledgeable drivers to our area getting stuck in the mud. I did my stretches and took Cassie out for walks between showers. Worked on my book most of the day until I had to disconnect my inverter because of lightning storms coming through. I did my studies.

Friday 13- 62/46F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took a mile jog with Cassie.

I got calls from Stevie Valeralle and Kjtel.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

Saturday 14- 56/42F with cold wicked winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and Cassie and I went for a mile jog.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

Sunday 15- 68/43F nice day. I did my stretches

I did my studies

Kjtel came by and we walked the dogs.

I did my nightly exercises.

Monday 16- 67/44F windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Dyan called and we decided to cancel the potluck. First time in 20 some years there won’t be a last Saturday potluck.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

Tuesday 17- I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

I did my nightly exercises.

Wednesday 18- rain and drizzle all day long. I did my stretches.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

Thursday 19- 59/39F cold winds. I did my stretches.

I did my studies and worked on my books.

I did my nightly exercises.

Friday 20- 62/45F overcast. I did my stretches and took Kelly, my guest, down to Joshua Tree to get her prescription filled.

Where we live out in the desert isn't so bad as to infections, not like the rest of California. I have a good friend who is in a nursing home on hospice I cannot visit.I've been staying at home. I don't go out much anyways, so I do my writing and editing, watch movies, do my studies and exercises. I had to drive Kelly my guest to the pharmacy to pick up some of her meds. I made her wear gloves and asked them to bring out her medicine, which they did. We drove right back home. I ain't taking any chances. I have enough food to last a nuclear winter. I even have enough toilet paper. Be careful and stay safe. We'll get past this pandemic.

I worked on my book.

Saturday 21- 68/51F cloudy with light winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on my books.

I did my nightly exercises.

Sunday 22- 72/51F cloudy. I did my stretches.

Monday 23- 77/58F some early morning rain cloudy with winds.

Tuesday 24- 73/46F a nice sunny day. I did my stretches. I wasn’t feeling very good so I just took the day off and edited my book.

Wednesday 25- 67/41F and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Kjtel and Bodie came by for a chat and a walk.

Went to work on the book.

Thursday 26- 61/43F cold and windy. I did my stretches.

I worked on my book and I believe I finished the editing. I just have to format it correctly and resubmit it.

Friday 27- 64/40F sunny but very windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Me and Cassie saw our first Tortoise this season.

I did my studies.

Kjtel and Bodie came by with some groceries we ordered from Stater Bros. I got coffee, eggs, bread, and butter.

I did my nightly stretches.

Saturday 28- 68/46F a little breezy but sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my studies throughout the day.

I did my afternoon yoga and 10 pound dumbbells. Took Cassie for a walk.

I worked some on the roof of the garage.

I did my nightly stretches (which hasn’t been too nightly) and exercised with the 15LBS dumbbells.

I practiced my guitar.

Sunday 29- 69/47F a little rain and wind. I did my stretches.

I did my studies.

I did my evening stretches.

I'll be taking some time off from FaceBook to work on a couple of books I need to get done: one to edit and publish, another to write. The past two months have been stressful for everyone with the Pandemic and Politics and I feel the need to step away from FB and the News Media and refocus my mind. I'll still be doing FB Birthdays. If you want to say hi Message me.

I also hang out at FaceBook Goes to Mars and Beyond... :)

I love each and every one of you and will see you at the other end

Monday 30- 76/50F nice and sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Dore Wilhoite called and we chatted. Then Bonnie Khan called and I chatted some more.

I did my studies throughout the day. Practiced my guitar.

I did my afternoon yoga, exercised with the 10lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk.

Kjtel came by and we went for a nice evening walk. She left her iPhone here and I had to walk back to her house.

I did my nightly stretches and exercised with the 15lbs dumbbells (I found out they weren’t 20lbs after all)

Tuesday 31- 80/56F. I did my stretches.

No poems this month... just ain’t feeling it with the pandemic and all the craziness going on.

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February 2020

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 08:57:26 GMT

February 2020

Saturday 01 76/46F. I did my stretches.

I worked on my garage roof.

Sunday 02- 79/50F very windy with clouds. I did my stretches.

Monday 03- 50/30F windier and cold. I did my stretches.

Tuesday 04- 55/31F windier with clouds. I did my stretches.

Wednesday 05- 59/40F still windy. Back to my routine: I did my stretches, core trainer, and weight bench, and walked a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast episode 541. Weird issues: The expansion rate of the universe.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Thursday 06- 71/41F clear.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Friday 07- 74/42F clear.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 558: Supernova SN 2006gy

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I finally practiced playing my guitar after banging my fingers with a hammer when building the new roof; I think I need new glasses!

I spent over 2 hours of editing. I decided to put all my Copper Mountain series books together in one paperback, even the Sci-Fi ones.

Saturday 08- 56/ 45F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie. I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book and then I burned out and went to rest.

Sunday 09- 54/41F and windy. Taking it easy today.

Worked clearing out old paperwork, old tax forms, old crap I didn’t need anymore and stuck it in my wood stove and burned some of it and it warmed up the house pretty dang nicely. I will do the same tomorrow. I have a lot more stuff to go through.

Got sick with stomach cramps

Monday 10- 50/32F rain, wind, and clouds.

As I was going through the old papers I came across lots of old photos that I ain’t going to throw away, ah the memories... chances with women I should have follow through on, many people I should have stayed in touch with, many friends I’ve made, and people who had nice things to say about me... makes me wonder if I returned the thanks to them; I hope so.

Tuesday 11- 61/36F overcast and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a walk.

I went through some more papers to burn; this time it was envelopes of birthday and holiday cards.

Wednesday 12- 70/38 nice and sunny. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to pick up a prescription for my guest who is ill and went to WalMart to get food and Home Depot to get more roofing supplies.

Thursday 13- 68/43F sunny. I did my stretches... kinda feeling burned out today.

Went to visit Mack at the continuing care place, but his bed was empty and I found out later he went out to lunch with Sara... good for him. I hope I am able to catch him next time.

I made the trip to Star Pharmacy again. Her doctor in his incompetence didn’t fill one of her prescriptions and it was the one she needed.

Friday 14- 70/42F and sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I spent more than eight hours editing my books trying to get them finished...

Saturday 15- 71/43F and sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I spent many long hours editing. I finished Book one of the sci-fi series and started on Book two.

Sunday 16- 73/47F. Took the day off.

Monday 17- 71/45F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Tuesday 18- 71/43. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I trimmed the large desert willow tree.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 8 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Wednesday 19- 73/42 intermittent clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a bike/run.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 8 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Thursday 20- 71/45F with high clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, and almost jogged a mile when I noticed my guest’s chiwawa running beside us. I had to take him back to the yard.

Kjtel came by with Bodie and me and Cassie walked over to her house and stayed for a short spell yapping.

Went to work on chapter three for a few hours.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Friday 21- 75/49F with a bit of clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Installed outside lights on house

Saturday 22- 63/40F it rained and was windy all day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks. I also worked on my book.

I finally got the dang cover right for “Azure Seas of Dreams” and Amazon accepted it. Now it’s available for purchase.

Sunday 23- 72/47F cloudy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Monday 24- 73/48F sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Tuesday 25- 69/38F and overcast. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Wednesday 26- 74/41F sunny nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a bike/run.

Thursday 27- 77/46F with clouds, no wind, nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a bike/run.

Friday 28- 76/48F overcast. I did my stretches.

Saturday 29- 77/47F and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to potluck. It was a beautiful day for our little community potluck and it fell on a leap day too.

For some reason, only ten hungry folks showed up out of the usual 20 to 25. I had to laugh at myself; so few folks and there sat in front of me a table plumb full of food and goodies we hardly made a dent. Plenty of second helpings to go around and lots to take home. Christ and Mary brewed up a taco and a vegetable soup casseroles, and pumpkin brownies. Pretty Patti Huges served us her famed meatloaf, cupcakes, cookies, and bread. Dyan Carroll prepared a fantastic Chicken Divan, Shepherd's pie, blueberry dump cake, fruit salad, and fresh green beans. Steven Stuart arrived with a yummy onion dip and chips. We found bliss in Sequoia Smith passion salad. Amanda made a wonderful broccoli salad. Yvonne Francis waltzed in at the last minute, her apron on, carrying a big bowl of spaghetti.

Like my dear friend Stoney Stonebraker used to say, “It ain’t how many shows up, it’s who shows up that’s important.”

****************** Poems for February 2020 ************

There's a girl in the desert, pink bows in her hair, modest and sweet she be. So close yet so far, a gap I had widened, my mind I cannot fathom this secret I keep for my love is so great for her. Being a bit humble and somewhat shy not knowing just how to speak those words I flounder to say. Will she run away aghast by my words of affection... or accept my love for what it is, a hole of loneliness to be filled by her love for me.

~RD

I see your image, a likeness that passes, a silhouette in a sunset, radiant, beyond my grasp. Tears from the heart have washed away laughter. Sorrow fills what is left of me. Sweet memories of you flow softly and gently, come visit me in my dreams tonight, my angel, come dance on a moonbeam with me.

~RD

Beautiful colors waving proudly its stars so bright. Carried in battles of freedom for which we fight, draped across caskets of our brave, folded ceremoniously in a triangular shape, and then presented with honor to loved ones at the fallen's grave. Our flag is more than a piece of cloth, it stands for who we are and what we can become.

~RD

comments

January 2020

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 04:02:07 GMT

A lot of this is cut and paste because I wanted to try doing a new routine with my exercises and studies... around the 25th I kinda burned out on this but continued on until the end of the month.

January 2020

My last run of 2019 and my first run of 2020

I held the camera sideways and upside down by mistake, I was so cold all you get is me huffing and puffing and mumbling on and on trying to come up with something to say so there wouldn't be any dead air; I couldn't remember the names of my own books I spent many hours writing and editing. Even when midnight hit there weren't any fireworks to show. At least I did what I said I was going to do.

Wednesday 01- 52/41F sunny with evening clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie. I didn't need my jacket and gloves for this sunny day.

I did my studies; astronomy, biology, anatomy.

I went to Kjtel’s New Year's dinner. Jeff, Nancy, Pat, and Charles were there. Mostly it was leftovers from New Year’s Eve party but it was mighty yummy.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Astronomy Cast Episode 527: Ancient astronomy of the American Southwest.

Thursday 02- 62/41F and sunny, but a bit windy later in the day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did a load of laundry, but too cold and wind to hang out to dry, I’ll try again tomorrow.

I swept the floors to the bedroom and bathroom.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy (reading 365 Starry Nights again), reading aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I started doing afternoon exercises, we’ll see how long that lasts, I did yoga, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 528: Modern astronomy in America’s southwest.

I did the poop patrol. I fixed my truck’s door where the rubber came off by using silicon glue.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar. I spent an hour or so working to put all four of my Copper Mountain series into one paperback.

Friday 03- 66/38F a bit hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I cleaned up around the house emptying the ashes from the woodstove.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy (reading 365 Starry Nights again), reading aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I started doing afternoon exercises, we’ll see how long that lasts, I did yoga, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Special Episode: Star Party.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar.

I spent an hour or so working to put all four of my Copper Mountain series into one paperback.

Saturday 04- 64/38F sunny and warm. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I mopped the floors to the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. It was all by accident. I went to only clean the shower in my 20min clean the house routine, but spilled the bowl of water containing Lysol all over the bathroom. So I grabbed the mop to soak it up. I thought while I was at it, I might as well clean the bathroom floor, which led to the bedroom and the rest of the house being mopped. Two hours later into my 20min only clean the house routine I was done

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 529: ancient astronomy of the Andes.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar. I spent 2 hours and finished editing book one of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Sunday 05- 66/40F sunny with gusts of winds up to 20mph. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 530: modern astronomy of the Andes.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar. I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Monday 06- 63/37F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I took my guest to Yucca Valley to rent a car. I got gas and then went to Stater Bros. to pick up a few supplies. I then went to see my Friend Mack who is in a continuing care facility. We had a great chat and jawed about the community center’s problems.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast 531: Australian Indigenous Astronomy.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar. I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Tuesday 07- 65/40F hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I picked up my guest in Yucca Valley when she returned her rental car. We went to Applebee's for lunch. Before going home, I stopped to get two propane tanks filled.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 532: modern astronomy of the Andes.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar. I spent 3 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Wednesday 08- 63/38F with a cold wind with gusts up to 15mph. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 533: ancient astronomy of South Africa.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar. I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Thursday 09- 56/39F cold and windy with gusts over 25mph. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 534: Modern astronomy of South Africa.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Practiced my guitar. I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback finishing book 3 for formating.

Friday 10- 58/34F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, yoga and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 535: what to watch out for in the summer skies.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 3 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Saturday 11- 61/36 sunny and breezy at times. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer (thought I’d throw that into the afternoon exercises), yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast 536: Everyday Relativity.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Sunday 12- 59/36F sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast 537: Reusable Rocket Revolution.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I’m writing a new song and it on playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Monday 13- 61/35F mostly sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie. Some bad people littered the road near my home and I went out there and cleaned it all up.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did the poop patrol. I moved stuff into storage in my trailer; I had to make some living room in the house... it was getting to confining.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 538: Asteroids: Rubble Piles of the Solar System.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I’m still figuring out the new song on my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Tuesday 14- 64/36F. Kjtel dropped by with Bodie to say howdy. Bodie is feeling much better after having an infected tooth pulled. Cassie ran to him instead of Kjtel like she always does; my guess is she knew he was hurting. Jeff stopped by with my USDA distribution food bag; lots of canned corn...

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 539: Weird Issues: Why We Don't Know the Age of Saturn's Rings.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Wednesday 15- 61/33F and overcast.I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I got fed up with going to haircutting shops and asking them how long until they can cut my hair, and their reply is always an hour or so. I have more important things to do than wait in a chemical-smelling place waiting, so I have an electric hair trimmer at home and I did it myself. I may have cut it too low because my head gets really cold when I go outside.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 540: Weird Issues: How Do (or Don't) Planets Form?

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Thursday 16- 67/38F and hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Friday 17- 58/35F and again hazy skies. My good friend Bob Vandenburg called to chat for a long spell. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a bike/run while listening to Ep. 543: Weird Issues: The Habitable Zone of different solar systems in our galaxy.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Saturday 18- 62/39F a few high clouds.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I called my good friend Larry Carlock and we chatted for a spell about when we took a scuba class back in the early ‘70s and went to Catalina Island on the Westerly out of San Pedro. Our class dove down to 90 feet! Larry and me dove out at the coves in Palos Verde. We must have hit every cove there. One time we heard an underwater earthquake!

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Ep. 544: Weird Issues: Biosignatures...

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Sunday 19- 67/45F cloudy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I went to the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books in JT and read one of my poems. What a wonderful time we all had at the poetry reading today. Lots of fantastic folks reading poems with such immense feeling from the heart that makes us all remember we are together on this tiny planet and possibly unique in this vast Cosmos we call home. I met Carol who runs a boutique, I also met Supinda a very good poet and it was her first time on stage. I finally found Taira’s boutique; she had moved some time ago from her original place by the stage. She saw me and gave me a big hug and also remembered my name!

Once I got home, I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a bike/run while listening to Ep. 545: Weird Issues: Are comets asteroids or are asteroids comets?

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Monday 20- 63/43 with clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Ep. 546: Weird Issues: Planetary Migration.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Tuesday 21- I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I went to the post office to pick up a package. Then I went to Stater Bros for supplies. I met a guy called Dan sitting out front collecting signatures for petitions and I signed a few. I thought he was from around here because he knew so much about our issues here; no he’s from New Mexico and gets paid from a company that makes money collecting signatures.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Ep. 547: Why Astronomy Still Needs Humans.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Wednesday 22- 64/44F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

Kirk, Shawn, and Randy from the Jahowa Witnesses came by.

Kjtel and Bodie dropped by in the evening for a chat and a walk.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 548: Stellar nucleosynthesis revisited: In stellar cores & atmospheres.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 4 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Thursday 23- I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 549: Stellar nucleosynthesis revisited: In and on and around dead stars.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Friday 24- 71/44F sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 550: Missing Epochs – Observing the Cosmic Dark Ages.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Saturday 25- 71/44F sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 552: Boyajian’s star (and other strange stars).

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Ripped off the metal part of the garage roof.

Our Little Community’s Potluck; I feel like I have done died and went to heaven the food was so scrumptious. We celebrated Valentine’s Day early just like WalMart and the rest of them retail shops do.

Let me tell you what y'all missed: Dyan Caroll brought in these two large pork roasts so cooked to perfection that just the aroma made this poor soul drool, and so tender the meat fell off my fork. Elizabeth West cooked up a mighty tasty spaghetti, but her garlic bread left me wanting more! Pretty Patti Huges makes a dang good meatloaf we all gobbled down along with her yummy lemon cupcakes. Mary Rider and Amiyah delighted us with their world-famous potato salad. Chris VanNortrick and her mom Mary stuffed us all with their egg, cheese, and noodle casseroles. We were all happy to see Yvonne Francis arrived with her banana pudding and sauerkraut casserole. Now I can’t tell you all what was brought in by these Masters of the Palate because I could go on and on, we tend to do this in the desert, but just to let you know we filled up two large tables and everyone took home plenty. Oh, and we hired this old man to mop the floors and paid him in food.

Sunday 26- 70/48F cloudy with high evening winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 553: What To Look Forward To In 2020.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Monday 27- 68/44F and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 554: Big Telescope Controversy in Hawai’i...

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 6 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Tuesday 28- 72/47 sunny and nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 555: Satellite Constellations and the Future of Astronomy.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 7 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Wednesday 29- 63/42F with wind to 35mph. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Ep. 556: Multi-Messenger Astronomy.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I’m playing my guitar.

I spent 6 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Thursday 30- 67/42F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 4 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

Friday 31- 71/45F sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies throughout the day: anatomy, biology, astronomy, read aloud out of the “Molecular & Cell Biology” book.

I did my afternoon exercised, core trainer, yoga, and exercised with 10lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a walk while listening to Ep. 557: Red Dwarfs: Friend or Foe.

I did my nightly stretches and worked out with the 20lbs dumbbells. I practiced playing my guitar.

I spent 2 hours editing book two of my Copper Mountain series in paperback.

****************** Poems for January **************

Accept your impermanence and go about life as if you’ll live forever.

~RD

Don't let naysayers drag you down into a world of self-doubt and self-pity... just stand up, laugh in their face, and go prove them wrong... that should shut the little assholes up <3

~RD

There’s nothing wrong with being right and nothing right about being wrong... Unless you are wrong about being right and right about being wrong.

~RD

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comments

December 2019

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 06:17:51 GMT

December 2019

Sunday 01- still feeling sick.

Monday 02- I felt better today and did my stretches and lifted weights. Just not up to jogging yet.

I drove to the Twentynine Palms post office to pick up a package of two old Nokia 800n handheld computers. I filled up the car and two five-gallon containers with gas and then went to Staters to pick up some supplies.

Tuesday 03- bad weather...

Wednesday 04- rained all day long. I did my stretches. It was a perfect time to sit down and write, address, and stamp all my Christmas cards. I finished all twenty of them and just need to send them out.

Thursday 05- very cloudy with intermittent showers.

I did my stretches, core trainer, and jogged a mile with Cassie. I wanted to exercise on the weight bench but everything was soaked after the rains.

I did my studies: astronomy and biology and listened to Astronomy Cast Lecture # 523.

Friday 06- the Sun came out today and charged up my batteries.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies: astronomy and biology and listened to Astronomy Cast Lecture # 524.

Saturday 07-

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my studies: astronomy and biology and listened to Astronomy Cast Lecture # 525.

Sunday 08- overcast with sprinkles. I woke up in the middle of the night with a splitting headache. It kinda scared me. I think it's due to these pills to reduce my cholesterol that I ain't going to take anymore. It still hurts right now but not as bad. I'm just going to take it easy today.

Monday 09- sunny with a few clouds here and there. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a short walk. I’m still feeling kinda weird and I guess I’ll feel this way until those cholesterol pills are washed out of my system.

I worked on and spent most of the day publishing my two books on Amazon, but ran into some problems with uploading one of the covers for the paperbacks; the Ebooks went okay though. I sent the template to Bonnie my cover artist.

Tuesday 10- sunny. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I then drove Kelly down to the county office in Joshua Tree to get land she purchased registered into her name. This is the second time I had to drive her there. The last time she was told that the seller who lives in Canada has to go to the US Embassy to get it notarized. We went shopping after that. We stopped by Burger King so I could wish my friend and fellow poet Giovanni a happy birthday and Kelly and I ate burgers and fries. I finally mailed off all those Christmas Cards I had ready to send to friends and family.

Found out the other paperback cover wasn’t working but I’ll wait on this and send it to Bonnie later.

Wednesday 11- sunny. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 526 about The Event Horizon Telescope and imaging M87 black hole event horizon.

I went to the Community Center for a meeting to discuss disaster preparedness. Two members from the Joshua Tree Water District were there along with 15 or so from our community. We had some great discussions and also formed ideas on how to proceed in creating some sort of an organization to implement these ideas. We decided to have a meeting sometime in January.

Thursday 12- windy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on books.

Friday 13- very windy! I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I drove my truck to Home Depot to get 16 2x4x8s to finish my patio. Stopped off at Walmart to get some supplies. I fueled up the truck and two 5 gallon gas cans. I stopped at Bar Lumber to fill up two 5 gallon propane tanks. I’m all fueled up and ready for the winter.

Still working on the books.

Saturday 14- even windier! I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

Worked on the books.

Sunday 15- windy and cold. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I drove down to Space Cowboy Books for the poetry reading. I didn’t read but took pictures and put them online to share. It was way too cold for these old bones and I left early.

Monday 16- still cold and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I attended our 2019 Morongo Basin CERT Christmas Party. I took a bunch of pictures. Elections were held, awards handed out, gifts were exchanged, and everyone got mighty stuffed on all the great food that was waiting on the serving tables for us to devour.

Tuesday 17- cold; my cement pond froze.

I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Bonny and me finally got the cover right on my new book, Upon Ashen Roads: Betrayal and Resurrection” and I published it!

Wednesday 18- colder! I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Thursday 19- not as cold. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Friday 20- warmer today. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie. Later we went on a bike/run.

I cut up a bunch of firewood.

I made rice and went to the Community Center's Christmas Potluck (not to be confused with our monthly potluck). Many people there I didn’t know who attend our First Saturday Breakfast that ends about the time I wake up.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22- I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk... that’s all I can remember... except working on the short stories.

Monday 23- Rained all day long but it didn’t create Lake Lucille. I did some stretches and exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Worked on the short stories I decided to include in “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

Tuesday 24- sunny cold. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a jog.

Wednesday 25- cloudy cold. I knew it was going to rain tomorrow so I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and took Cassie for a jog.

Worked on the short stories.

Thursday 26- SNOW! Rained all day. Lake Lucille at the bottom of my street, cars getting stuck, Leaks in the house. I did my stretches and stayed mostly inside. Solar panels covered in snow and not charging batteries, so I had to cut down on using electrical.

Friday 27- sunny, windy, and cold. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on the roof fixing the leak. It was where I had drilled to put in a little solar panel to run a fan during summer. I also cleaned the corrosion off my trucks battery terminals because it didn’t start. Got it started and filled up a tire that has a slow leak. I finished formatting “Azure Sea of Dreams” and loaded it up, but again the cover has to be redone because I added 30 or 50 thousand words. I really want to get back to storytelling instead of all this editing and formatting.

Saturday 28- started out sunny and then came the wind and the cold.

I cooked up my pot of rice and headed to potluck, except my truck wouldn’t start. I needed to pick up Chris because she has the keys to the center and people would be left outside waiting. I couldn’t take my little car because it wouldn’t make it past Lake Lucille that forms on Winters Rd. when it rains, making it very difficult for small vehicles to get through. So, I tapped the battery terminals with a hammer and that did the trick and I was on my way.

Earlier, Dyan Caroll sent me a text:

“I’m doing a pot roast so big I have to use 2 crockpots. Honey buttered carrots, Brussel sprouts in a cream sauce, brown and serve rolls and a strawberry shortcake trifle. Cal and Tina are coming too. My sister is making the mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese and a beautiful cookie platter. I’m hungry I haven’t ate yet today and don’t plan on it till dinner.”

There was lots of yummy food, good friends, and nice conversations with these wonderful folks who I consider Family.

Sunday 29- cloudy, windy and cold. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I really did a thorough cleaning job on the truck’s battery terminals. It took me an hour, but it starts up the engine every time!

Monday 30- cold and cloudy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk. I didn’t have much time because my guest Kelly needed a ride to the car rental place in Yucca Valley so she can visit her doctor in Palm Springs. I did some shopping at WalMart. The place was crowded and so were the streets getting there.

Tuesday 31- 58/46F cloudy. I did my stretches, lifted weight, and took Cassie for a walk. My Guest needed me to pick her up from the car rental place after she drops it off. I am preparing for my run out of 2019 and run into 2020 a new decade, a new beginning, and many bright promises if we let love and tranquility into our hearts.

**************** December 2019 POEMS ************

Instead of New Year's resolutions for 2020, I'm making me a road map of detours, roadblocks, dead ends, and toll booths to hopefully avoid. <3

~RD

If I was a younger man I’d shower her with chocolates, flowers, and gifts galore. I’d whisper sweet tender words into her ear to warm her loins and sway her love towards me. But alas, I am an older man, lost youth be to me, I can only gaze upon her sweet cherry lips, gypsy lace velvet hips, with raven hair so dark it’ll suck up my soul...... from across the foggy sea banks from afar on yonder shore I ponder my fate.

~RD

Push! I want to become relevant in a world gone non relevant. Or how to stay relevant in a non-relevant world... :)

If we all decided to leave Earth and left it to all the animals to evolve on their own... would they miss us?

~RD

There’s something is missing, a great loss from deep within and you can't put your finger on it.

I know, it can happen later, maybe a month or many years later those feelings I spoke comes roaring back... Sometimes I wake in the morning and there's that sense of loss; it could be from a dog, cats, or people in my life I had enjoyed their presence but have passed on and my longing for them persists into the years.

~RD

Poems are like this: We reflect our souls into them, and they shine right back at us in words of rhyme and reason to comfort us in times of despair, to enlighten us in times of doubt, and to give us joy in these times of uncertainty. Poems are our way of expressing the inexpressible…

~RD

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comments

November 2019

Mon, 30 Dec 2019 06:10:54 GMT

November 2019

Friday 01- I did my stretches.

I help Kelly hookup her propane to her trailer.

I spent the evening editing “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

Saturday 02- I did my stretches, situps, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I listened to two more Astronomy Cast Lectures: Ep.

I dug out and removed the clothesline thingy so I can start working on phase 2 of the patio.

I took Cassie for a bike/run

Sunday 03- I did my evening stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did some chores around the house.

I took Cassie for a bike/run over to check on Jimmy Stonebraker’s cabin.

Later in the evening, I took Cassie for a nice walk.

I cooked up a big pot of spaghetti and stuffed myself.

I started editing and adding more poems, parables to “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

Monday 04- I did my evening stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, yoga, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I continued to update and edit “Azure Sea of Dreams.

Took Cassie for a bike/run and later for an evening walk.

I did my evening stretches.

Tuesday 05- I did my stretches, core trainer, jogged a mile with Cassie, exercised on the weight bench.

Still working on “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

Took Cassie for a bike/run.

Cassie and I went to visit Bodie and Kjtel and watched two episodes of

Wednesday 06- I did my stretches, core trainer, jogged a mile with Cassie. Later in the evening, I took her for a bike/run.

I did some more work on the patio expanding it.

Still adding and editing “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

FedEx delivered my new ebike a 54.19Ah Juiced City Scrambler. I quickly put it together. The WatchTower people paid me a visit and we sat around talking ebikes.

I took Cassie for an evening walk.

I did my evening stretches.

Thursday 07- I did my stretches. Cassie killed a jackrabbit and ate most of it... I’m kinda afraid of her sleeping with me. I think I’ll keep her well-fed for now on.

I went to my appointment for my physical. Had a nice chat with the Doctor there talking about everything. He is 6 months older than me and we had a lot in common.

Still adding and editing “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

I did my evening stretches.

Friday 08- I did my stretches, core trainer, jogged a mile with Cassie, exercised on the weight bench. Later in the day, I took her for a bike run.

Worked on the patio. Still adding and editing “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

Saturday 09- I did my stretches, core trainer, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Our little community held it annual meeting on Saturday the 9th of November to elect or re-elect a new 2020 board of directors for our Copper Mountain Mesa Association. A regular board meeting was held first to wrap up the year. I can tell you they are a talkative bunch covering all kinds of issues. One issue was the dangerous condition our roads were left in when the county decided to use Winters Road as an emergency bypass when Highway 62 was shut down for a day. Another issue was the new cell towers being trenched and erected.

The meeting had a light turnout but those of us attending were treated to beef and turkey sandwiches, refreshments, and Mary Helen’s famous yummy cookies. The General Meeting started off with the Pledge of Allegiance. There were openings to fill and we got right down to voting and we are proud to announce the new board for 2020: President Kip Fjeld, Vice Pres Stephanie Smith, 2nd Vice Pres Crystal Wysong, Secretary Michel Cicero, Treasurer Mary Helen Tuttle, Director Mack Dodd, Director Steve Tuttle, and Director Chiara Giovando.

We should all be thankful for these wonderful neighbors of ours who are willing to donate their time and perform the duties that keep our little community functioning for so the rest of us can continue to enjoy our desert home.

I went right back to work on the patio and edit “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

Sunday 10- I did my stretches.

I took Cassie for a walk over to visit Jimmy Stonebraker and his family who are up here from LA for a family reunion.

Worked on the patio and editing.

I did my evening stretches.

Monday 11- I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and jog a mile with Cassie. Later in the evening, we went for a bike/run.

Worked on the patio and editing.

I did my evening stretches.

Tuesday 12- I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

Worked on the patio and editing. I went to the wellness clinic in Yucca Valley for my annual physical.

Wednesday 13- I did my stretches, took Cassie for a mile jog, and exercised on the weight bench.

I did a whole lot of work on the patio extension and was pretty tired when I got done.

Thursday 14- I went to Yucca Valley to get an X-ray and complete my physical. I stopped off at the post office first to sign and pick up a registered envelope for Kelly’s property transfer documents.

Friday 15, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17- kinda got busy and forgot to write down what the hell I did in those day.

Monday 18- I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and ran a mile with cassie.

I am still editing my poem book.

Shanna arrived from Arizona with her three sons ages 4, 12, and 17. She needed a place to stay until she finds a house... tough times. I’m been a batular all my life and haven’t been around children. I guess I’ll find out how I’d do as a parent for a short while.

Tuesday 19- rained most of the day. I did my stretches.

I took Kelly down to Yucca Valley to pick up her rental car so she can drive to Palm Springs to see her doctor. I had an appointment to see my doctor so it wasn’t out of the way. My chest X-ray turned clear but my triglycerides were high and she gave me a prescription that I filled at Rockey’s.

Wednesday 20- rained a little here and there. I did my stretches.

I picked up Kelly at the place in Yucca where she dropped off the rental car. I needed to get my vaccinations; one for pneumonia and the other for shingles. The shingles one hurts really bad and I have felt pain for many days after.

I made a big pot of spaghetti and it was all eaten up by the end of the day.

We sat around watching a movie and eating popcorn again.

Thursday 21- My arms hurt and I’m not feeling very good so I didn’t do my exercises.

Shanna’s two older sons never rode a motorcycle so I took out my scooter and gave them instructions on how to start and ride. Then I let them go. They had a whole lot of fun. I also let them ride one of my eBikes and they had fun on that too. Later once night fell I took out the telescope. We saw Saturn and a few meteors shoot across the sky. We sat around watching a movie and eating popcorn again.

Friday 22- I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and jog a mile with Cassie.

Shanna took the two older boys to visit her ex for the weekend and didn’t come home until late. This gave me time to work on my poem book and I got a lot done on it.

I started feeling a cold coming on.

Saturday 23- Yup I came down with a cold, bummer. I am adding and editing Azure Sea of Dreams.

Sunday 24- I am Sick. I am adding and editing Azure Sea of Dreams

Monday 25- I am still sick. I am adding and editing Azure Sea of Dreams

Tuesday 26- I’m sick but I went to the store to get a few things like cough drops. I finished adding and editing Azure Sea of Dreams... I think.

Wednesday 27- Feeling better now and was able to get around more. The past few days I tried not to give whatever I had to anyone else staying at my home.

Thursday 28- ThanksGiving! Shanna cooked up a storm. She used the BBQ to cook the turkey... it took a few hours to do but it all turned out fine. First time I ever had people at my house for Thanksgiving or anything else; it was fun. Later we watched movies, ate popcorn, and had hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Friday 29- I woke up this morning and noticed Bon Bon wasn’t in the yard, and I thought you took him with you over to your friend's house. Then I went online and read your text and hunted down your letter. I realized right then I will really miss you guys. It was the most excellent Thanksgiving ever for this old bachelor. It made me feel like a father to the kids. Yesterday Markiss asked me to help him with his history and science homework; I felt mighty good, and I was available to help when he was ready. I couldn’t wait to get the telescope out on a clear night again with CJ, who I think is interested in astronomy as I am. I’m happy for the time you guys spent here; me getting to let the two boys ride a motor scooter for their first time, an experience I hope they never forget. I even got used to Riley’s tantrums... Well, kind of sort of ;)

Tears welled up in my eyes as I read your letter, and I felt very lonely for the first time in many years, but I quickly fell back into my perpetual bachelorship.

Saturday 30- cold and rain in the evening.

Kelly’s puppy Lily passed on and I dug a deep hole and we buried her. She was a very strong and resilient dog.

There were about 20 denizens of the desert attending our Annual Saturday Thanksgiving Potluck. Elizabeth West rowed to shore from the Mayflower bringing us apple sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean salad, and pumpkin cheesecake. Pretty Patti Huges manned the oars rowing alongside Elizabeth with dinner rolls, cranberry salad, cookies, cream cheese and crackers. Dyan Carroll hunted through the forests of Massachusetts stalking us down a turkey, yummy pecan bars, and a corn casserole. John Jacobson arrived in the New World bearing Hawaiian buns and fruit tray. Chris VanNortrick and Mary Kobal trudged all the way from Plymouth Rock through ten feet of snow carrying veggie chili casserole, yams, and assorted cookies for everyone. Mary Rider added to our food coma with her delicious potato salad. We all had a wonderful time gobbling down the cornucopia of vittles with our pilgrim friends who donated money and went home with plenty of leftovers and a Tryptophan hangover. Happy Holidays from our little community.

******************** Poems for November 2019 **************

~RD

Don’t let the past be your anchor, but your guide.

~RD

Basically, I’m done with all this Political Correctness nonsense and have moved on in life. Some people are too easily offended that it stifles communication. But it is, to me, more frightening to think how some would have us being ruled and our ideas sequestered and condemned if our beliefs and actions do not comply with our PC overlords.

~RD

Surround yourself with interesting people who have the courage to be different, who dare to exhibit profound creative ability, and the unpresumptuous audacity to think they can change the world for the better, for they are the ones who can.

~RD

Creativity is what follows the realization that everything is possible, and the only boundaries you will encounter are those set by others who haven’t come to that realization yet.

~RD

Paintings, sculptures, or words of description cannot render the lively soul of such a sweet girl, but only a poet’s heart or an angel’s touch could ever come near to knowing such a bonny young lass as thee.

~RD

Forever is not a place in time but a realm of colors in our minds. Shades of blue and shades of green paint this landscape of our dreams. Little we know the parts we play when we wake up to face another day, to search this realm of flesh to find, a friend so dear, not left behind.

~RD

The end of the road looks hidden and gloomy as I walk this path of my life’s final journey. I hear a cry, a shout, a wild winter’s scream, I stop to glance back and caught sight of a being, who might be following, and stalking me down, who hides in the shadows to strike me a blow, to be left to die slowly on the side of the road.

Ascending now quickly into these cold damp dreary hollows, where forsaken souls arrive quickly from dark, dismal dreams. I am now attacked on all sides by these evil swarms, covering my ears from screaming Banshees. I jump, I sprint, I windmill my arms to fight off this curse, to run away swiftly before it gets worse. I slow in my journey down a two-legged highway and come to rest on an old wooden bench. The bench seems alive but all weathered and gray, from paint that has chipped and rotted away. Across lies a field all covered in thorns, I shall not tread over there for my shoes are quite worn. This old bench which I sit catching my breath is really a trap as its limbs start to unwrap. With twigs for fingers, they pick, and they tear, shedding my clothes, my flesh, and pulling my hair. Reaching out grabbing and squeezing, the limbs are now closing, blocking my view, from all things that I love and friends that knew. Cherished loved ones whose paths I have crossed, most have gone missing, perished, or lost. I have no regrets on this wild road I’ve chosen, what lies beyond this dream of a life, nobody knows unless woken.

~RD

I hope you find a sturdy boat someday and begin your voyage far, to the fairy realm to witness the unicorn races and watch fairies sprinkled in pixy dust dance to the strum of the centaurs' harp. Indeed it is a magical place, which lies nearby in twilight’s break between a tick in time, where dreamers of dreams meet to celebrate the coming of a new dawn. I hope to see you there one day, I hope your travels are perfectly fine. I shall meet you there someday, my friend, between the tick in time.

~RD

It probably sounds crazy of me, but if I could only find the right words, to plant a seed that will grow and spread, of love and peace, in the minds of those who would bring us all down, if I could just find those words everything would be okay.

~RD

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comments

October 2019

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 22:29:34 GMT

October 2019

Tuesday 01- 85/59 and clear. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit and broke the heavybag and it fell to the floor while I was punching it, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I moved my solar panels to about where I want them on the back patio roof.

I did my evening stretches.

Wednesday 02- 90/63- I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I worked on connecting the wires to the panels. It seems to me I spend most of my time looking for the tools and parts I need. It might be to my benefit to collect them all into one place.

Thursday 03- 93/65- I did my stretches. I worked on the electrical of my solar system.

I did my evening stretches.

Friday 04- 93/65- I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench and the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I needed some connectors for wires connecting the panels together, so I made a run into 29 Palms. I also got some supplies at Stater Bros. Supermarket.

I did my evening stretches.

Saturday 05- 94-/60. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a bike/run (I bike, she run).

I worked on my solar panels.

I did my evening stretches.

Sunday 06-

I did my evening stretches.

Monday 07- 96/59F. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench and the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Tuesday 08- 98/62F. I did my stretches

I did my evening stretches.

I completed my book but just don’t know what to name it... I called it the Kneeling Man, but that might change. Anyways, I posted it on my FaceBook page as a PDF my friends can download. I will leave it posted there for one month only and then delete it before I publish it.

Wednesday 09- 93/59F and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to the post office in 29 to pick up the solar wiring I ordered. The went to do some shopping. I checked out the health club while there to see if my membership was still good; it was. I think I might start using it.

Thursday 10- 85/59F and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench and the 10 and 20-pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

A guy called Jason and his girlfriend ran out of gas

I frisky and did my stretches, core trainer, did 50 setups, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Friday 11- 84/55F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my evening stretches.

Saturday 12- 85/ 54. I did my stretches, core trainer, situps, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my evening stretches.

Sunday 13- 87/ 58. I did my stretches, core trainer, situps, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my evening stretches.

Solar panels

Monday 14- 89/ 56. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Monday night's dinner thingy at the community center.

Solar panels

I did my evening stretches.

Tuesday 15- 90/57F. I took Kelly to Yucca to rent a car so she can see her doctor in Palm Springs. I went to get my flu shot and then went to Labcor to get my blood work done.

Jason came by to use my air-pump to inflate one of his tires.

Wednesday 16- 87/59F with clouds. I did my stretches. I followed Kelly so she can return the rental car in Yucca. We did a little shopping at a new supermarket there called Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. The store had many discounts with fair pricing. We had lunch at Carl’s Jr.

I visited Shanna and her kids at Motel 6 in 29 Palms. They drove out from Arizona to visit me and she’s thinking of moving back here.

Thursday 17- 86/52F and very windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

UPS delivered the 200AH gel cell battery I ordered. It weighs 127 LBS and I think I may have pulled a muscle lifting and moving into place (I gots to remember I ain’t 24 anymore). Got it all hooked up with the other 200AH gel cell battery, making a total of 400AH the inverter has to pull off of.

I had dinner with Shanna and her kids at Pizza Hut in 29 Palms. I had a very good time.

Friday 18- 89/67F. Saturday 19- 89/67F.

Sunday 20- 90/63F.

I wondered where all that traffic came from going past my house yesterday all night. The last time when Winters Rd was used as an emergency bypass was many years ago when there was a bomb scare on Hwy 62.

I wonder when the County is going to pave Winters Rd if it's going to use it as an emergency bypass in the future?

Monday 21- 92/65F.

Well I found out why all the traffic came down our road: Hi-Desert Star “A fatal collision happened late Sunday night, Oct. 20, on Twentynine Palms Highway east of Rotary Way. A huge section of Twentynine Palms Highway remained closed to through traffic Monday morning in as investigators continued to work on the scene. At Lear Avenue, Citizen Patrol volunteers spent Sunday night sending westbound traffic north on Lear to Winters Road, but in the morning they got word that overuse of the road had made it impassible.”

Tuesday 22- 94/68F. Wednesday 23- 91/59 degrees F. Thursday 24- 82/50F.

I did my stretches and worked editing my books.

Friday 25- 83/52F. For the first time since I hurt myself deadlifting a 127 pound battery last week, I did my stretches, core trainer, jogged a mile with Cassie, exercised lightly on the weight bench. Just a little pain, so I think I’m still healing and will probably take a few more days off from exercising.

Saturday 26- cloudy with evening sprinkles.

There were about 15 denizens of the desert attending our Halloween Potluck.

Dyan Carroll haunted us with her bloodcurdling barbecued chicken, beefy enchiladas, beets, and sweet potatoes. Elizabeth West dragged in a coffin full of white bean & ham soup, chili cheese cornbread, and peach cobbler. Pretty Patti Huges spooked us all with her cabbage salad, pear crisps, and handed out jars of homemade jams and loaves of lemon bread. Chris VanNortrick and Mary Kobal flew in on their broomsticks carrying veg mac cheese casserole, pea salad, fruit salad, and chocolate cookies. Mary Rider avoided the Zombie Apocalypse outside to bring us a delicious potato salad. We all had a Ghoulish time chowing down with our Poltergeist and other apparitional friends who donated money and haunt the halls of our little community center.

Sunday 27- I did my stretches.

Monday 28- I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

Tuesday 29- I did my stretches and took Cassie out for a bike/run.

I installed a 5Watt solar panel to the house fan.

Wednesday 30- 59/36F. I did my stretches, jogged a mile with Cassie, and exercised on the weight bench.

I wanted to continue with my studies since I completed most of my solar patio. I listened to three Astronomy Cast Lectures: Ep. 517: Fritz Zwicky and the Zwicky Transient Facility; Ep. 518: When the Universe tried to Declare War; Ep. 519: Transients: What They Are and Why They Matter Part 1.

I did my laundry and went on poop patrol.

I helped Shanna and her kids find a hotel in Mesa Arizona.

Thursday 31- 67/37F. I did my stretches, jogged a mile with Cassie, and did some situps.

I gathered all my tools together so I could sort them all out and have them handy without looking all over hell to find them. I still have more to do on sorting other things like nails, screws, and more tools for electrical and woodworking.

I listened to two more Astronomy Cast Lectures: Ep. 520: Transients: What They Are and Why They Matter, Part 2; and Ep. 521: The Deep Space Network.

I colored a page of the heart and its parts in my anatomy coloring book.

******************** Poems for October 2019 **************

I reflect upon my wild endeavors

of youth unburdened indiscretions

free to challenge the world

but as grains of sand

slowly fill the glass

iron turned to rust

to gather like dust

upon the vast desert

of my mind

~RD

Coffee: the lifeblood of poets who awakens thy spirits and illuminates this darkened void with the brilliant colors of poetry and purity of verse.

~RD

To me, life is like writing a book: it depends upon how you edit your story. What type of characters you want to include. The adventures and mysteries you and your characters dream up along the way to life's final chapter.

~RD

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comments

September 2019

Sun, 06 Oct 2019 22:54:39 GMT

September 2019

Sunday 01- 112 degrees F with late night rain into Monday morning.

I went to our community center's Art and Music Festival and there were a lot of desert folks showing up. There were Belly Dancers too!

Monday 02- 102 degrees F. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag, and jogged a mile.

Tuesday 03- to Tuesday 10- I had a bad case of hayfever and there was extreme heat alerts for our area, so I decided to stay inside and focus on getting my book edited and editing my other books getting everything ready to put them all on paperback. I did do my stretches and took Cassie for her walks when possible.

Wednesday 11- 98 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, jogged a mile with Cassie, weight bench, and punched at the heavybag for a spell.

Thursday 12- 98. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Bonnie and Larry came for a visit

Friday 13- 106. I did my stretches.

UPS delivered the 12V 200AH Gel Battery. I hooked it up

Saturday 14- 108. Sunday 15- 103F. Not feeling well.

Monday 16- 101 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag for a spell, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on my books.

Tuesday 17- 98 degrees. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on my books.

Wednesday 18- 97 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised with the 10&20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Thursday 19- 99 degrees. I did my stretches. I helped my guest set up her solar system on her trailer.

Friday 20- 96 degrees. I did my stretches. I continued to help my guest with her solar system. Now she has power and is ready to move onto her own property.

Saturday 21- 93 degrees. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Sunday 22- 96 degrees with some clouds. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised with the 10&20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Monday 23- 98F. I did my stretches. It’s Cassie’s birthday and we were going to celebrate, but she was sick during the night and I stayed up with her until 6 AM in the morning. She started feeling better in the evening... what a relief because I was going to take her to the Vet if she wasn’t better. I wasn’t feeling all that great myself.

Tuesday 24- 94 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

I drove to Stater Bros to pick up some supplies.

I did my evening stretches.

Wednesday 25- 91F. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised with the 10&20 pound dumbbells, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I did my evening stretches.

Thursday 26- 87 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

I did my evening stretches.

Friday 27- 86F. I did my stretches.

I went to our community’s Friday nite BBQ.

I did my evening stretches.

Saturday 28- 88F. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

There were about 20 denizens of the desert attending our little community’s potluck. Cal Mayers- fruit plate. Pretty Patti- pulled BBQ pork, Hawian rolls, cheese bread, pear dump dessert. Mary and Amuyah: potato salad. Chris VanNortrick and Mary Kobal- pork beans vegetable pasta and cornbread. Mary Rider- potato salad. Other kindly donated money.

I’d like to include this quote from Dyan Carroll she sent me by messenger:

“BBQ Chicken, Reuben casserole, pork in a chili Verde sauce, spinach casserole, cauliflower with cheese sauce, Spanakopita Appetizers, bacon ranch dip with crackers, and last but not least a banana cinnamon trifle. I know it sounds like a lot but, you can’t make any of these dishes for yourself and enjoy them. They all require friends.”

We all had a wonderful time with wonderful friends jawing and chowing down the yummy grub!

I did my evening stretches.

Sunday 29- 84F. I did my stretches, core trainer, jogged a mile with Cassie, situps, and punched at the heavybag for a spell.

I did my evening stretches.

Monday 30- 82F. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

I went for a bike/run with Cassie.

I did my evening stretches.

******************** Poems for September 2019 **************

My successful life I'm still working on and never did care about how others measured me... and my satisfied life will probably never be satisfied; I'm forever searching, endlessly discovering, and always questioning. 　

Sometimes we can love too much and are taken for granted

Sometimes we are loved too much and take this for granted

Sometimes we live on the edge

Sometimes we fall off

Sometimes we laugh with friends

Sometimes we cry alone

Sometimes we triumph

Sometimes we fail

Sometimes we move on

Sometime there will be no more sometimes

~RD

I might be wise but indifferent

I have pain from my diligence

I love by my envy

I hate by my sorrows

I cry for my loneliness

I frown at my laziness

I smile for my kindness

I shout at my stupidity

I yawn at my emptiness

I fear for my jealousy

I laugh at my incompetence

Deranged or inspired

Intrepid or loathsome

I am amused

~RD

In this world of ours, it's difficult to find the truth...

In this world of ours, the truth may not be what it seems...

In this world of ours, it's hard to hear the voice of truth among the deafening roar of falsehoods...

In this world of ours...

It's best not to lie...

Because that's the only truth you'll really get to know.

~RD

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comments

August 2019

Sat, 05 Oct 2019 06:48:53 GMT

August 2019

Thursday 01- 103F with blue skies. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my studies.

Cassie and I were invited over to Kjtel and Bodie’s house to watch “Das Boot” (2018) the new series.

Friday 02- 107 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag for a short spell, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to pick up some packages, one containing 100 feet of wire ordered from Amazon, from the post office. I gassed up the car and stopped off at Stater Bros to pick up a few supplies.

I went to the BBQ night at the community center.

Saturday 03- 109 degrees. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I did my studies and wrote a song.

Sunday 04- 110F. I did my stretches; rest day.

I did my studies.

Monday 05- 111 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, punched at the heavybag, and went for a mile and a half jog.

I did my studies.

I went to our movie night at the community center. We watched a very interesting kinda who done it called “Bad Times at the El Royale” (2018) starring Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman and Chris Hemsworth. I believe one of the wonderful songs from the early ‘60s was kinda out of sync with the times portrayed, “He’s a Rebel” (1962) but maybe I’m wrong, it might have been a flashback of Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo) the female singer, who is a mighty fine singer. Lots of hidden easter eggs that most of the older generation would get.

I give the movie an A!

Tuesday 06- 109 degrees humidity high. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie early in the morning when it was cooler.

I did my studies.

Wednesday 07- 110 and very humid. did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, punched at the heavybag, and went for a mile jog.

I did my studies; to humid to do anything else.

Thursday 08- 107 degrees with a bit of humidity. I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

I took my guest Kelly to her doctor’s appointment in Cathedral City, then on to Star Pharmacy, Home Depot, and then to Applebees to celebrate my birthday.

Friday 09- 105 degrees. I did my stretches.

UPS delivered the new modem to replace the old failing one that has been giving me headaches for the past month. The old one was a workhorse for me given its 12 years of service at my house.

I went to the community BBQ....

Saturday 10-

Sunday 11- 98F and kicking back on this beautiful sunny day.

Monday 12- 102F and not a cloud in the sky. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag for a spell, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to Movie Night at our community center to watch “American Hangman” (2019) starring Donald Sutherland. We all seemed to like it and it was very suspenseful, well thought out, and had a surprising ending. I’ll give it a B+

Tuesday 13-

Wednesday 14-

Thursday 15-

I took Kelly my guest with me to Stater Bros. to get some supplies, and then to Burger King for lunch.

Friday 16-

Saturday 17-

Took Cassie for an evening mile jog; she was very happy to go and so was I.

Sunday 18-

Monday 19-

Movie night at the community center. We watched “Arctic” (2018) starring Mads Mikkelsen and María Thelma Smáradóttir.

Tuesday 20- 112 degrees hot. I did my stretches and then Cassie and I jogged up the hill and back down.

Wednesday 21 to Tuesday 27 got kinda sick from my hayfever and there were excessive heat warnings throughout our area through this period, so I stayed inside and finished editing my new book and started editing on past books in the Copper Mountain Series and will combine them all into one or two books. I did go to the store a couple of times for supplies and I also did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk everyday :)

Wednesday 28- 110 degrees. I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog with Cassie, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

Thursday 29- 108 degrees. I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog with Cassie, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

Friday 30- 112 degrees. I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

Saturday 31- 110 degrees. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog.

To me our last Saturday of the month potlucks are more like a monthly Family gathering around the dinner table than anything else. Over the past 20 years since we started potluck I’ve seen many a dear friend pass-on and watched other’s come and go. Their images I capture with pictures, but my fond memories of them are deep-seated into my soul which no camera can capture.

There were about 20 denizens of the desert attending. Dyan Carroll- cabbage rolls, yams, broccoli salad, and deviled eggs. Cal Mayers- fruit plate. Elizabeth West- chocolate strawberry banana cake, taco bolosh, and BBQ pork. Mary and Amuyah: potato salad. Jeff Dongvillo- BBQ pork. Chris VanNortrick and Mary Kobal- BBQ bean vegetable casserole and fruit salad. Yvonne Francis- banana pudding cake. Charles Lange- blueberry pie. Other kindly donated money. There was so much food we all got stuffed and made off with the rest for dinner the next day.

******************** Poems for August 2019 **************

If I don’t receive my morning coffee, I'd be forced to cavitate my mood into a deeper darker abyssal state of apocalyptic proportions...

~RD

Life is a beautiful wondrous phenomenon. We only get one chance at it, but have many chances to take different paths. Have fun on your journey :)

~RD

Some friends can't dance, don't want to cast shadows on your sunshine, and only come out during the worst of storms when you need them the most 　

~RD

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comments

July 2019

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 19:29:54 GMT

July 2019

Monday 01- temps in the high ‘90s with lots of haze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I took Kelly to get her prescriptions filled and then stopped off at WalMart to get some supplies.

Went to movie night.

I took Cassie for a night jog up the hill and back.

Tuesday 02- temps still in the ‘90s. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Wednesday 03- 105F. I did my stretches.

I drove to the post office in Twentynine to get my new computer, a Surface Go, and also a 2006 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia I purchased on Amazon in brand new condition for $13. I find I like real hold in your hands reference and textbooks. If I find a decent whole set of Encyclopedia Britannica I may purchase them. I remember as a kid I’d sit cross legged on the floor flipping through the set of Funk and Wagnalls dreaming of all things possible.

Thursday 04- 104F. I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

I painted 3 coats of paint on 8 2x4s for mounting the solar panels on the patio.

Used the BBQ for the first time and invited my trailer guest Kelly over for hamburgers.

Friday 05- temps around 100. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on getting the solar panels ready to mount on the patio.

I rode the scooter to the community BBQ and yammered on about nothing of importance.

The 6.4 quake hit while I was on my scooter on our bumpy road coming home from the BBQ and I didn't even feel it.

Saturday 06- temps in the lower ‘100s with light cloud cover. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later in the evening we went for bike/run; lots of fun.

The 7.1 earthquake hit and I slept right through it. If it wasn't for FB I wouldn't even known there was a big quake. I really feel for those in Trona California

I mounted 4 panels onto the patio roof; no small feat doing it by myself.

I went for a cruise on my scooter just to get out and about.

Sunday 07- around 100 degrees with a bit of wind. I did my stretches.

Cleaned out the garage work table draws of pack rat nests; a nasty job.

Monday 08- nice weather today. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie, and hit at the heavy bag for a spell.

Movie night “Duel”

Cassie and I went for a night jog up the hill and back, and then I did my stretches.

Tuesday 09- high ‘90s. I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Kjtel and Bodie house for dinner and a movie.

Wednesday 10- 106 degrees. I did my stretches.

Thursday 11- 110 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie, and hit at the heavy bag for a spell.

Friday 12- 111 degrees. I something I ate the day before gave me stomach pains and had a hard time sleeping... no exercise today.

I did go to the bbq at the community center. I didn’t eat much but had fun yapping away at the good folks there.

Saturday 13- hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie, and hit at the heavy bag for a spell.

Sunday 14- hotter. I did my stretches.

I went back to work on the patio hooking the solar panels on the roof. 20min outside, 20min inside for most of the day so I wouldn’t get too overheated.

Monday 15- hottest. I did my stretches. Took Kelly my guest to the DMV to get her licence and a few other errands she had to do. I went to the post office to pick up my whole set of Encyclopedia Britannica (1989). Though they may be old, they are in great condition and wasn’t very expensive at $200. I always wanted these. I remember sitting on the floor of the local library flipping through them when I was around ten to thirteen. The Encyclopedia Britannica sadly went out of print in 2012.

Tuesday 16- really hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile without Cassie, and hit the heavy bag for a spell.

I continued to work on the patio painting some rails to hold the panels to the roof.

Wednesday 17- a bit cooler. I did my stretches.

I went to work continuing installing solar panels on the patio. I will hook up the last of them tomorrow. I just need to wire them altogether.

Thursday 18- a bit cooler still around 104 degrees. I did my stretches.

UPS delivered my new 49” television I’m hooking up in my bedroom. Watched it tonight and boy it’s really nice watching movies on a bigger screen.

I got the last bit of wire connected in but all mickey moused until the parts come in I need to do a more professional job.

Friday 19- hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, and jogged a mile.

I went to movie night at the community center.

Saturday 20- 103F. I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

Sunday 21- 108F with a few clouds. I did my stretches.

I went to the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books in JT to read my poem and listen to other’s read theirs. Took lots of pics I shared online with them all.

Monday 22- 103F and overcast. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag for a spell, and jogged a mile.

Movie night at the community center. The movie was called “Confidence” (2003) and everyone kinda got bored of it and went outside.

Tuesday 23- overcast. I did my stretches.

Wednesday 24- rain. I did my stretches

I went to Home Depot and then onto Walmart to gather supplies.

Thursday 25- more rain. I did my stretches.

I went to visit Bonnie and Larry.

My car sent me an email at 10:44 telling me my left-rear tire was flat. I went to check it out and sure enough it was flat.

Friday 26- 106 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag for a spell, and jogged a mile.

I spent most of the day hunting down parts to fix the flat. The cheap floor jack from WalMart didn’t work; it only worked once before.

Had ribs at the Community BBQ and jawed with friends and some new folks who showed up.

Saturday 27- 108 degrees. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I’ll have to wing it on this potluck story folks because I had forgotten to pick up the list of people who contributed when I left for home stuffed happy as a pig in slop.

I want to thank those who worked so hard cooking in this desert heat, taking the time to drive on our bumpy dirt roads to our little community center and carry inside container after container of homemade yummies. All the regulars showed up, some first timers living in our area, and a few more arrived I’ve never met. They were well received by us desert denizens and mighty happy to share our little part of the desert with them. The serving table was cram packed with all kinds of wonderful dishes of meats, casseroles, and yummy desserts we all pigged out on. What a wonderful bunch of folks we have living up here. I feel mighty blessed to be one among them.

Sunday 28- 110 degrees. Rest day.

The computer I picked up at Bonnie and Larry’s to work on was a complete loss. I dismantled the iMac G5 to take out the harddrive and found the graphic and processor cooling fans were so stopped up with dirt and hair that they wouldn’t spin up; the system was fried, toast, bricked. I applied power to the harddrive with my own data transferring equipment, but the drive was as dead as a fossil. I put the computer all back together and called Bonnie I wasn’t going to waste anymore time than the three hours I already wasted on a machine someone had badly neglected and had not taken the time to backup their precious pictures I was trying to recover for them.

Monday 29- 103 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag for a spell, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Tuesday 30- I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Wednesday 31- 102 degrees. Rest day!

******************** Poems for July 2019 **************

Remember: interesting people with their misadventures are what makes life interesting for the rest of us :)

~RD

It's the quality of friendships we hold close to our hearts and those wonderful memories of old friends that surface in our minds from time to time which create the wholeness we all share together <3

~RD

Sometimes those born out of adversity glow the brightest <3

~RD

The Dream

I was following a steep trail making my way very carefully climbing over boulders, scaling ridges, traversing gullies and cobbly streams of icy-cold glacial melt.

Ever so slowly I climbed higher through the pass as billowing dark clouds grew towering before me. Ominous in their vast glory of turbulent foreboding warning me away. With much arduous effort I finally reached the summit of the great mountain I fought.

I saw a man standing alone before me, immobile, right knee bent at the edge of the precipice, looking casually out at the grand expanse of snow enshrouded mountain ranges.

Cold thin dry air forced its way down nostrils and lungs from my panic upon seeing this unholy aberration who stood before me. My nose began to bleed. I could feel its warmth as it oozed down against my numbing cheek.

The mysterious man seemed oblivious to this extreme environment as he stood glowing brightly against the dark ambiance of the surrounding storm. Wind-blown hail pelted him as his long black cloak rippled in the winds like the sounds of a gale flapping through untrimmed sails of a mighty clipper ship rounding Cape Horn.

Weakened by my climb, I clung to rocks and crevices as I slowly crawled to the foot of the man. Fighting the bitter icy winds, frost formed encrusting my beard, teeth chattering, and I could no longer feel my stiff icy fingers. Both hands felt heavy like cast iron claws connected to my arms. I reached out in a feeble effort to grab onto this omniscient man’s ankle.

He finally took notice of me and bent ever so slightly to peer questionably into my face. What I saw shocked me to my core. Like a mirror, it was my own image staring back! Now I became that man standing immobile, right knee bent at the precipice, looking casually out at the wide expanse of mountain ranges.

Stunned by what I saw of this lowly creature who dared to climb up to the precipice where I stood to grab at my pant leg, I swiftly kicked the weakling of my former self back down the mountain trail far from the raging madness where I now stood at the edge of forever.

A blast of brilliant light so intense it seared deep into the tendrils of my soul and I awoke from this dream a different man. I felt empowered by this vision I have dreamt many times before with different endings with me always falling down that tall mountain. Now I am that man standing on the precipice at the edge of forever. I am now in control of my own destiny.

~RD

Treat everyday as if it is your birthday. Awaken to a fresh renewal of self-awareness and reflect upon life and all its wondrous diversity. Go out and find a new adventure to undertake. Dance barefoot through a field of grass. Stand in awe like a little child beneath the glistening stars and become whole again at peace with yourself and the universe.

So, Happy Birthday to you!

~RD

Her passing was to me as if a tornado ripped a deep chasm into my chest and tried to suck away at her existence, but my heart prevailed <3

~RD

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comments

June 2019

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 07:52:31 GMT

June 2019

Saturday 01- warmer with a light breeze. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog. We saw a tortoise on our jog; we stopped for a sec to say hi and then jogged on leaving the critter be.

It’s been awhile but I did the poop patrol because Cassie was running out of places to go.

I finished the wash I let soak overnight and hung it out to dry.

I edited April’s journal and posted it online.

When it cooled down enough we went for a bike/run; just don’t want Cassie to overheat.

I did my studies, practiced guitar, and read aloud.

Cassie and me had a bunch of leftover energy so we went for a night jog up the hill and back. I then did my nightly stretches.

Sunday 02- a little windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and Cassie and I went for a mile jog.

I did my nightly stretches.

Monday 03- getting warmer. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I went to Twentynine Palms to pick up a package containing an old Apple Clam shell and then did some shopping at Staters Bros.

I went to movie night at our community center and we decided to watch “Backdraft 2” (2019) Directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego. With Joe Anderson, Donald Sutherland, and William Baldwin, Alisha Bailey. It is the sequel to the 1991 movie with the same name starring Curt Russel. It was nice to see Sutherland again playing Ronald Bartel, and William Baldwin playing Brian McCaffrey as they did in the original Backdraft. My guess this is the longest, 28 years, for a sequel ever. Now I’ll have to go back and watch the first one to make a bit more sense out of this one. I’ll give it a B :)

I did my studies of biology.

I did my nightly stretches.

Tuesday 04- breezy and warmer. I did my stretches, yoga, and went for half a mile jog with Cassie. It would have been a mile but she seemed to be getting overheated and we walked back. We’ll have to go for evening jogs for now until cooler weather.

Cassie and I went for a night jog up the hill and back to make up for earlier’s failed attempt.

I did my nightly stretches.

Wednesday 05- hazy and 106 degrees. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and later in the evening took Cassie for an evening jog up the hill and back.

I messed around inside the house doing the little stuff that keeps things running efficiently.

I did my nightly stretches and jogged up and back down the hill with Cassie.

Thursday 06- hot at 102 with a stiff wind blowing. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie; I got up earlier when it was still cool.

Went right to work on the new patio before the wind comes, nailing the two plywood sides up. I got them up okay but had to stop at that point because I was getting overheated.

I did my studies

I did my nightly stretches and jogged up and back down the hill with Cassie.

Friday 07- 103 degrees with a bit of wind. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

It got up to 103 degrees and I've been trying to get work done on my new patio I’m building. If it ain’t wind it’s heat that’s been hindering me. I should had got it all down by now. I did go out early and continued working on the wall of the patio.

I went to the community movie night and we all watched “Gravity” (2013) starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney; the only people in the movie. With megastars like these two we all thought the producers couldn’t afford anyone else to cast. This one had us all glued to our seats. There were a few squeaks I heard emitted from a couple of females in the crowd behind me as Sandra Bullock bounced around among all the debris of the space station as it was broken apart by bits and pieces of satellite wreckage. I’ll give this one an ‘A’ for astounding.

I did my nightly stretches and jogged up and back down the hill with Cassie.

Saturday 08- cooled down into the ‘90s. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog. We saw another tortice on our jog, stopped to say hello, and continued on our way.

I did my studies and read aloud from the biology book. I practiced on my guitar “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by the Beatles.

Cassie and I went on an evening jog up the hill and back. I did my nightly stretches.

Sunday 09- in the high nineties. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a walk.

I did some of my studies.

I went to the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books and read one of my poems. I asked Charles to read one of his own instead of one by Leonard Cohen. He said it was the first time he read one of his own poems in public... He did really good :)

Monday 10- 103 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag for a bit, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I worked on the new patio painting the first coat of white paint on the walls. I could only work 20-30 minutes at a time because of the heat.

Did a load of laundry too!

I went to movie night. The movie I thought was mighty gross so I left early.

Me and Cassie went for our nightly jog up the hill and back.

I did my studies.

Tuesday 11- 106 degrees. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassied for a fast walk.

I took Kelly, my guest, to her post office box in Twentynine Palms to collect her two 200 watt solar panels. We stopped at the county office so she could get some filing papers she needed. Shopped at Staters.

Cassie and I went for a night jog up the hill and back.

Wednesday 12- 108 degrees. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog, but it was too hot to take Cassie.

Kjtel came by with Bodie for a chat just before I left for the DMV.

I went to the DMV to get my driver’s licence renewed. It wasn’t all that bad as I imagined it would be.

I took Cassie for a bike/run when it was cooler; I kinda owed her for staying in the house most of the day.

Thursday 13- 107 degrees. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog. I sprained my left wrist somehow and it hurts when I move it in a certain way. I’ll have to give it a rest for awhile until figure out what weight lifting I can do without making it worse.

I did some of my studies.

I smelled the fire around 11pm

Friday 14- 106 degrees. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I drove to WalMart to do a bit of shopping and get a haircut; my hair was getting way too long for summer. Stopped off at Home Depot to purchase a showerhead cutoff.

I went to movie night to watch “Gran Torino” (2008) starring Clint Eastwood.

Saturday 15- 104 degrees and breezy. I did my stretches

I worked on the patio.

Sunday 16- 101 degrees and breezy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Space Cowboy Books

Monday 17- 106 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag for a bit, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Wrist still hurts so I will lay off it for the time being.

I went to Movie Night.

Tuesday 18- I got very sick

Wednesday 19- 108 degrees. I did my stretches. I went right to work moving some of the panels off the house and positioning them on the new patio roof. I would work for 20-30 minutes in the heat and then take the same off inside where it was much cooler.

Thursday 20- 103 degrees. Still not feeling very well, but had to get up early at 7AM to hook up the solar array to the new battery. Went back to sleep until 12:30.

UPS delivered my Radio Shack TRS 80 Model 200 computer. It was built in 1985 and it adds to my collection of TRS 80 Model 100 and 102 computers. I have many old computers I collected over the years, so I guess it’s kind of a hobby of mine which I never really intended it to be.

Friday 21- 105 degrees. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I went to the community BBQ. A few sat around jawing swapping stories, some started playing board games, and I kinda mingled here and there with everyone.

Saturday 22- 102 and windy. I did my stretches.

I sat around outside trying to figure out how I want to arrange the solar panels I’m putting on the patio roof.

I did part of my studies.

Sunday 23- temps in the high ‘90s. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised with the dumbbells and on the weight bench, went for a mile jog without Cassie because it was too hot and I don’t think she wanted to go anyways.

I did part of my studies and practiced on my guitar.

Messed around with some electrical stuff around the house.

Took Cassie out for a night jog up the hill and back.

Monday 24- around 100 degrees. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I went to Home Depot to get me some wire for the solar panels I’m putting up.

I picked up my neighbor Jeff and arrived at our community center for movie night for a movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin called “Dead Silence” (1997)

Tuesday 25- a little cooler today. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised with the dumbbells and on the weight bench, went for a mile jog Cassie.

I did all of my studies and more :)

Wednesday 26- temps in the high ‘90s. I did my stretches. I just decided that Sunday and Wednesday will be my easy days and won’t do any strenuous exercise.

Thursday 27- temps still in the ‘90s- I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half; too hot for Cassie to come along.

Cassie and I went to Kjtel and Bodie’s home to eat apple pie and watch the last three episodes of HBO’s “Chernobyl” one of the best shows I’ve seen in a longtime.

Friday 28- temps climbing back up to the hundreds. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Saturday 29- into the hundreds again. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag, and jogged a mile with my faithful doggie.

I did the poop patrol and there was a lot of it.

I cooked up my pot of rice and headed on down to our community potluck. There was quite a crowd showing up and this was a good thing because we had enough food to feed a company of hungry Marines; I had to loosen up three notches on my belt! The theme this month was celebrating the 4th of July 1776 when 13 small colonies declared independence from Great Britain.

Dyan Carroll fired off the first salvo at the attacking British with a pot roast, stuffed peppers, and a strawberry trifle; that was two notches off my belt right there. Elizabeth West, along with Sarah and Andrew made a direct hit on the enemy with their ham mac and cheese. Pretty Patti Huges picked up her friend Kim as she landed in Texas on a flight from China, and then they drove nonstop all the way to our little community with her lip smacking lemon bread to feed our famished troops. Crystal and Ted bombarded our foe with strawberry pear crisps. Mary Koval and Chris VanNortrick poured vegetable chili and pea salad on the advancing British forces. Jeff Dongvillo, John Jacobsen, Charles Lange financed our cause as Gil and Bruce reloaded our canons with yellow cherry cake.

Finally our antagonists retreated and Cal Mayers and his daughter Tina planted our flag in their fruit salad plate.

We here at Copper Mountain Mesa wish y'all a very wonderful and reflective Independence Day.

Sunday 30- dang it I forgot to write down what I did today, but it must have been really important ;)

****************** Poems June 2019 *****************

If you rely only on actors for your political views and opinions you’re living in a bigger fantasy world than I.

~RD

Bullies come in groups of two, three, or more, but hardly ever alone and never on even ground.

~RD

Remember: Seek out that special reality fitting to your beautiful nature and go out and live it.

~RD

At this particular moment in my life when friends and lovers become distant memories and the future grows ever present. When violent discord rips through our great nation brought on by a biased news media infected with their own self-righteous indignation and complacency. When social media giants have become our censors banning those with opposing views. As our elected officials sit high on their moral asses promoting character assassination based upon vacuous unfounded claims. I find I have no need to impress anyone anymore but myself.

~RD

We should not be so selfish as to keep all life contained here on Earth. Instead, let the universe drink deeply upon our planet’s sweet biological nectar and share our most precious rare commodity out there among the stars...

~RD

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comments

May 2019

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 21:57:32 GMT

May 2019

Wednesday 01- very windy. Exercised on the weight bench jogged and took Cassie for a jog.

I finished the second coat of paint on the new patio.

Thursday 02- very windy still. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Worked on the patio putting on a third coat of paint.

Friday 03- I called my doctor about the anti-inflammatory steroid pills Prednisone. I told him I’m only getting 2-3 hours of sleep a night, also it’s making me feel irritable and short-tempered. Oh, I got a whole lot of work on the patio and around the house because of the pills, but now I am feeling really burned out. He told me to stop taking them.

Saturday 04 and Sunday 05

Wow, coming down off the Prednisone is really bad. My body aches all over and has retained a whole lot of water which I’m expelling quite rapidly.

Monday 06- cloudy, windy, with evening showers. I did my stretches, jogged a mile with Cassie, worked out on the weight bench and punched the heavybag.

Tuesday 07- windy day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a bike/run.

FedEx delivered 2 lithium batteries... one had 13.9 volts, but the other had .69 volts. I’ll have to call MightyMax tomorrow and ask them what’s up.

UPS delivered my GenZe E-Bike, but it didn’t have a battery! I called and got a hold of John at the company and he is going to ship me out a battery right away and also a lock for the bike for my troubles.

I put another coat of paint on the patio.

Took Cassie out for an evening walk.

Wednesday 08- still windy. I did my stretches.

Me and Cassie went for a walk with Kjtel and Bodie and ended up at her house watching two episodes of GOT.

I received two ML100-12LI - 12V 100AH Deep Cycle Lithium Batteries I ordered. One had a charge of 13.9 vdc, but the other had a charge of .69 vdc

I called customer service and was told to take the bad one to AutoZone and have it checked out, which I did. The store manager tried to test it and said to me the device he was using cannot detect any charge at all. I took the photos and emailed them to MightyMax for their reference. They emailed me a return UPS label I printed and taped on the battery package getting it ready to ship back to them.

Thursday 09- cloudy with a bit of wind. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to Yucca Valley to the UPS store there with the bad battery to return it. Then I went to Home Depot to collect some wood I need for various projects.

Me and Cassie went for a night jog.

Friday 10- windy, cloudy with some rain. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

UPS delivered the new battery that was missing for my new e-bike. I put it on charge right away and will test it out tomorrow.

I worked on building a frame for the fan vent for my little trailer. I didn’t saw through the roof to put it in because it might rain today.

I went to the Friday night movies at the community center. Mack, Pat, Steve, Melody, a girl who rides horses, Lana and her husband (I didn’t ask his name), and Kip showed up and we stood around yammer on and about this and that and other things. The movies were western horror film called “The Burrowers” (2008) , written and directed by J. T. Petty. Evil creatures live below the surface of the prairies in Dakota Territory around the 1870s and prey upon the living. I’ll give it an S- for kinda scary.

Saturday 11 and Sunday 12- not feeling well again... very tired and just stayed in the house. On Sunday I couldn’t get any sleep until 6am or so, and then slept until 4pm missing the poet reading at Space Cowboy Books.

Monday 13- nice warmer day. First day I really felt better since I stopped taking those anti-inflammatory Prednisone steroid pills on Friday the 3rd. I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to movie night at our community center and watched “The Meg” (2018) directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Jason Statham. It reminded me a lot of “Jaws” (1975) with those underwater shots with dangling swimmers’ legs. I could almost predict what was to happen next and most of the time I was right. I enjoyed the action and was nailed to my seat with anticipation a few times. Of course there were a few scenes that were over the top impossible.

Tuesday 14- warmer still but with a nice breeze. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and jogged a mile with my Cassie.

I did some writing in the book

Wednesday 15- a windy day outside. I did my stretches, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I wrote a bit in my book.

Thursday 16- very windy. I did my stretches and jugged up the hill and back down with Cassie; too windy for our usual mile jog.

Friday 17- less windy but still very windy. Not feeling very well and couldn’t sleep last night; must be my allergies kicking in again. I did my stretches and that was about all.

Saturday 18- another windy but nice day. I did my stretches, yoga, and went for a mile jog with Cassie

I cleaned up around the house, and swept the floor of my utility trailer.

I stopped off at my neighbor’s house for a birthday party for Sophia; absconded with a few cupcakes.

I did my studies: the anatomy drawing book, pre algebra, Linux, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook; trying to get back on point with my studies.

I did my nightly exercises (finally) and went for a night jog up the hill and back with Cassie.

Sunday 19- Windy! I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I again cleaned around the house; swept out the bathroom and washed the small trash container in there.

I did my studies: the anatomy drawing book, pre algebra, Linux, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Cassie and me went over to Kjtel and Bodie’s house to have a long walk, dinner, and watched the last 3 episodes of Game of Thrones. It was mighty fine show and sad that it ended.

I did my nightly exercises.

Monday 20- still windy but not as windy as yesterday. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to the post office to pick up a part I ordered for my Honda Generator, went to Stater Bros (I ran out of butter) and picked up a few other items.

I took Cassie for an evening walk.

Kelly my Guest came over for dinner and a movie.

I did my studies, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Again, I did my nightly exercises.

Tuesday 21- cold and windy. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I replaced the starter rope assembly of the Honda Generator with the new one I picked up yesterday. It was a bit of a challenge getting the nut off the rotor shaft but a little ingenuity and patience I got it all together, done, and working.

They looked a little thirsty so I watered them all the plants outside; they be happy now.

My sister Lynn called and we talked for over an hour about this and that and other things.

Kjtel came by with Bodie and we went for a walk all bundled in coats and scarves to keep warm in the cold wind.

I remembered to do my nightly exercises.

I did my part of my studies; mostly some online pre-algebra course, and the anatomy coloring book.

Wednesday 22- rained most of the day and was mighty cold. I did my stretches and took Cassie out for a short walk between the rain showers.

I did some of my studies...

Thursday 23- windy and cold. Took Cassie for a walk.

Drove truck back and forth on the driveway I’m creating to pack it down.

I did my studies.

Friday 24- a very nice day finally. I did my stretches and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

Saturday 25- another very nice day but with a tiny bit of wind. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I made my rice and headed on down to our community potluck. We were all happy and surprised to see Mary Kobal take up her usual seat at our dinner table after a two year respite. She arrived bearing peach and key lime pies along with a jolly old smile planted on her face being glad to be back home among her desert friends.

Chris VanNortrick stirred up her magical bean casserole. Cal Mayers and his daughter Tina brought a fruit plate full of fruity goodies. Elizabeth West with her Grandson in tow prepared biscuits and gravy for us to quickly devour. Yvonne Francis thrilled us with an Italian bean salad and her famous dump cake. Dyan Carroll loaded our plates with her amazing spicy but mild tamales, a tasty mac and cheese, along with a tossed green leafy salad. Charles Lange, Bruce Chronister, Gil Aiken, Mack Dodd, John Jacobsen, and Bruce Kroeze, donated huge amounts of kindness, friendship and support for our little community. We hope y’all had a wonderful Memorial Day as we did.

I did my nightly stretches.

Sunday 26- really really windy. I am lucky because just before the high winds hit I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went for a jog with Cassie my sweet doggie. And then all hell broke out as 60 MPH gusts hit our area!

I did my nightly stretches.

Monday 27- windy again, even rained a bit here and there. I did my stretches.

Jimmy called and we talked for over an hour. I cooked breakfast while we talked. I was so into our discussions that I forgotten to turn off the gas to the pan I cooked the eggs in. I only noticed after filling the room with grease smoke, making me open all the windows to air my little cabin out.

Cassie and me were invited over to Kjtel and Bodie’s home to watch two episodes of HBO’s series “Chernobyl” wow! Can’t wait to see the rest!!! Very intense!

I did my nightly stretches.

Tuesday 28- a nice windy day. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Wednesday 29- a wild and windy day. I did my stretches.

Thursday 30- windy still. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went for a jog with Cassie.

I did my nightly stretches.

Friday 31- a bit breezy and warmer. I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a mile. It was too hot for Cassie to go along but I’ll make it up to her tonight.

I drove to Yucca to pick up a port-a-potty like you see on construction sites. Paid Hamid (a very nice easy-going fellow) $250 for it.

I first stopped off at Bank of America to withdraw the money and found out they are shutting down this bank on September the 9th. The closest BofA is in Desert Hotsprings 40 or so miles away! I decided to close out my savings account and thinking of going to another bank or credit union with my checking and money market account too.

Cassie and I went for a bike/run. She was overjoyed because we haven’t done it for a while.

****************** Poems May 2019 *****************

Never give up! Never stop learning! Never stop asking questions! Never let others stand between you and your goals!

~RD

The writing of a book is never complete even after it is published. There’s always something nagging at the author’s mind of a bit of a thing to add or change. This is why the souls of writers haunt the halls of libraries, coffee shops, and old bookstores... they just can't seem to let it go.

~RD

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comments

April 2019

Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:51:33 GMT

April 2019

Monday 01- a hazy day but nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a long walk.

Kjtel came by in the afternoon for a cup of tea and a chat.

Tuesday 02- cloudy day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a long walk.

I worked on the shower putting in the plumbing so it’ll drain outside. Took most of the day and still haven’t completed the job. I’ll have to work on this another day. So many projects, so little day to complete them all.

Wednesday 03- a very nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a long walk.

I drove to Yucca Valley and my guest Kelly went along for the ride. We stopped at the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions. I then dropped her off at WalMart to shop while I went to Home Depot to get materials for my new patio. Afterwards we both went to Stake & Shake for a hamburger and fries.

Thursday 04- windy. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound weights, and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

I worked on the new patio.

I went to movie night at the community center to watch “Mojave” (2015) written and directed by William Monahan, and starring Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund, Mark Wahlberg, Louise Bourgoin, and Walton Goggins. I kinda liked the movie with its unexpected twists and turns. I'll give it a 4.5 for succeeding in fooling me a few times :)

Friday 05- cloudy with wind building up in the evening. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile run.

I worked on the new patio all day.

Saturday 06- a windy but a nice day where the dark blue expanse of the sky opened up and drew me in and all I wanted to do is kickback and squander time by writing poetry. I did my stretches and went on a bike/run with Cassie.

I did my studies, practiced my guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Sunday 07- a very nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I worked on the new patio again for most of the day putting up another cross beam. Slowly it’s all coming together.

I did my studies, practiced my guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Monday 08- overcast with a light breeze and temps into the high 80s. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I drove to the post office in Twentynine Palms to pick up some packages. I then went shopping at the supermarket there.

Kjtel came by with Bodie and we walked over to her house to have dinner and a movie: “The Highwaymen” (2019) Directed by John Lee Hancock. Starring Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, and Kathy Bates. About two Texas Rangers who went after Bonnie and Clyde in the 1930s. A very highly memorable movie that will come back to haunt you. The filming and directing was superb along with the stars who fit and acted their characters to a tee. It was nice to see the story told from the perspective of law enforcement exposing the wicked side to Bonnie and Clyde, and how the newspapers and radio romanticized them as heroes instead of the vicious violent psychopathic killers they were.

Tuesday 09- a very windy day. I did my stretches and stayed inside messing around with my antique computers.

Wednesday 10- still very windy! I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a bike/run.

I worked on putting in the shower stall and hooking up the rest of the plumbing. What a big hassle it was. The whole shower is made of this hard to work with flimsy plastic sides that has to fit into these grooves. It took me all day to get them in placed, and once together had to remove it twice when the sides came undone. I felt like throwing the whole monstrosity outside in the dumpster.

Thursday 11- not quite as windy but cloudy and cold. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I think I finished putting up the cross beams of the patio. I may have to put a few more on to make it a little more stable or maybe not.

I finished up working on the patio putting everything away and drove to the community center for movie night to watch, “Silence” (2019) Directed by John R. Leonetti. Starring Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka, and Miranda Otto. The movie kept me entertained despite the errors. Everyone here kept asking why did they do this or not do that; leaving home without food was one, simple stuff like that. Oh, and coming to a highly secure fence surrounding a cabin and able to gain easy access by crawling through an oversized drain. I’ll give it a C+

I remembered to do my nightly exercises... finally.

Friday 12- nice sunny but windy day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I drove to WalMart to pick up a few items and then shopped at Home Depot getting some caulking for the shower and a drain pipe hookup.

Made a Doctor’s appointment in Yucca Valley for tingling in my right hand little finger and my pointing finger that’s been bugging me for the past two months. I thought it would get better, but I was mistaken.

Saturday 13- a wonderful day. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I did everything I had on my to do list for today: fixed leaky sink, caulked the whole shower, poop patrol, laundry and hung it out to dry, and did all of my studies, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Sunday 14- I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I drove on down to JT for the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books. I took lots of pictures to share and even read one of my poems.

I got back just in time for me and Cassie to go over to Kjtel’s house and watch The Game Of Thrones.

I came back to do my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Monday 15- a bit windy with clouds. I did my stretches, yoga, went for a jog with my doggie. Later we went for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

I went to movie night but only stayed there for a little bit because the movie they were showing kinda sucked.

Tuesday 16- rain, cloudy, and windy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

My guest Kelly came over and cooked us up some yummy corned beef sandwiches.

I wanted for a delivery of my Latin study books I bought from Amazon but they never came.

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Wednesday 17- breezy but still a fine spring day. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for an evening walk and a night jog.

I checked OnTrac online and their website said my Latin books were delivered. I called and spoke to the service rep. She said she would have the driver come by or call me today... they never came by or called.

I cleaned around the house straightening up the place and sweeping the dust bunnies from under the bed and in the corners.

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Thursday 18- a very nice spring day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I called Amazon about my missing Latin books. The Rep was very nice and said she would have my books reordered and sent to me on Friday and if my lost order from OnTrac magically shows up to just send them back if I can.

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Friday 19- a fair spring day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a short walk.

I kinda got bored and drove to do some shopping in Yucca Valley. I went to Staters Bros, and WalMart. I got hungry and got a quick meaty cheesy burrito at Taco Bell... it had something hard I bit down on and it turned out to be Fritos corn chips! It was mighty good!

Saturday 20- a windy day! I did my stretches. I wasn’t feeling all that great and spent the time in bed writing.

Sunday 21- another windy day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I worked on the new patio a bit, but because of the high winds had to quit.

Monday 22-

I did my stretches and exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells.

Tuesday 23- yoga

I went to Joshua Tree to the Beatnik Cafe to listen to a few speakers talk about climate change, stopping the trapping of Bobcats, and someone yammered on and on about owning a Tesla. I talked with the lady who spoke on Climate Change and found out she was promoting the Green New Deal; didn’t sound promising of passing through Congress to me, but then again I didn’t think Trump would get elected President. I asked the speaker who owned the Tesla how much he paid a month; $600! That puts it way out of my reach!

Wednesday 24- very windy. I dropped my guest Kelly off at WalMart so she can do her shopping and then went to my Doctor’s appointment in Yucca Valley for tingling in my right little finger and my pointing finger... he believes it’s carpal tunnel and gave me prescriptions to fill.

Thursday 25- windy. I went to have my blood tested at LabCorp in Yucca. Shopped at Staters Bros, and then stopped off at Star Pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled.

Went to Thursday movie night but they had changed it to Fridays from now on and didn’t tell me. I wonder what that’s all about? :)

Friday 26- sunny and hotter. I did my stretches.

I worked on a few things around the house.

I missed Friday movie night because I didn’t feel well.

Saturday 27- cloudy and windy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I cooked up some rice and headed on down to our community center. It took me awhile to notice (with all the yummy food around) that the theme for this month’s potluck was Easter with bunnies and colored egg candies decorating the fancy tablecloths. Dyan Carroll brought bunny treats of carrot cake, apple salad, and a biscuit and gravy casserole. Chris VanNortrick made us thump the ground and twitch our noses with a vegetable chili and veggie rice. Yvonne Francis proudly presented her four bean salad and scrumptious bunny lemon squares. Cal and Tina Myers hopped in with their mouth watering fruit tray fit for every bunny. Mary Rider hid her chicken enchiladas we had to hunt down. Pretty Patti Hughes came with her Easter basket filled with lemon breads and desserts. Charles Lange Bruce Kroeze, Gil Aiken, Mack Dodd, John Jacobsen, and Bruce Chronister, hopped on over telling bunny tales and donating large amounts of kindness and friendship. All in all it was a mighty fantastic Potluck.

Sunday 28- cloudy. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie. Hangnail on my foot is much better now.

I went right to work on the patio putting up reinforcement knee braces connecting on all the beams and posts; it doesn’t sway now, very sturdy.

Monday 29- windy and rainy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went right to work painting and doing a wash of clothes. Then right in the middle of this large dark thunder clouds came whipping up my way. I continued to paint but I decided to leave my wash soak overnight. I had most of the patio painted before it just got too dang windy and cold.

Tuesday 30- very windy. I did my stretches.

I hung my laundry out to dry that had been soaking all night.

I finished the first coat of paint on the patio, the wind was so hard it blew my ladder down twice before I had to call it quits.

FedEx delivered my two new 136 watt flexible Uni-Solar panels.

****************** Poems April 2019 *****************

Yup it's true... some people who borrow money have a lapse in memory when it comes to paying me back. I am not a bank I tells them. I really don’t expect to be paid back, I just gives them a bit of money and that is that. But when they comes back later asking me for more I says to them "What did ya do with the money I already gave to you?" I never had a one of them ask me again :)

~RD

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March 2019

Wed, 01 May 2019 00:38:16 GMT

March 2019

Friday 01- nice and sunny in the mid morning and then lots of lenticular clouds came over the mountains and the winds started piping up around 2:30pm. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched on the heavybag for a spell, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later her and me went for a bike/run.

I did my laundry and hung it out to dry. Did the poop patrol. Washed the mud from the last storm off all the cars. Filled the batteries with water.

I went over to Katherine Tate’s home to setup her printer she asked me to do last Tuesday at Dhamma Dena center; I was out of there in less than 20 minutes.

Saturday 02- very windy! I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike/run.

I did all my studies, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the molecular biology book.

I listened to Astronomy Cast lectures Ep: 501: Water Worlds Revisited, and Ep. 502: No Touching: Determining Composition of Worlds Remotely

I remembered to do my “nightly exercises” tonight.

Stayed up late to watch SpaceX Dragon Crew spaceship dock with the ISS.

Sunday 03- nice sunny day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised with the 10 & 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike/run.

I did another load of laundry and hung it out to dry. I started working on the south patio where I’ll install most all my solar panels.

I listened to Astronomy Cast lectures Ep: 20, and Ep: 21 about Transients in astronomy.

Kjtel and I took our doggies for an evening.

Went back to work on the two driveways clearing them out getting them ready to move Kelly and her trailer over to her property.

I did all my studies, practiced my guitar, and read aloud from the molecular biology book.

I remembered to do my “nightly exercises”

Monday 04- a little overcast but mostly sunny. I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I drove to Star Pharmacy in JT to get a prescription refilled. There was an angry woman who came in the store yelling and complaining about having to wait and how an older lady at the counter was asking too many questions of Rocky the pharmacist. I left no wanting to listen to her bitchiness. I went to explore the area of the little mall that has a liquor store, a rock store, an Indian restaurant, a radio station, and a few other stores. I didn’t go into the rock store because I would be the only customer and would feel pressured to purchase something, so I went exploring inside the tobacco shop and chatted with the sales girl. I went back to the pharmacy and the angry woman wasn’t there. I started jarring with one of the customers (Mark) telling him about that woman when in she comes complaining again; she had only went to the restroom. The staff handed her prescriptions and was happy to be rid of her, but to run after her finding she had walked off with the restroom key.

Worked on the two driveways again getting them nearly drivable.

I did all my studies, practiced my guitar, and read aloud from the molecular biology book.

I remembered to do my nightly exercises.

Tuesday 05- partly cloudy and then wind and a bit of rain in the evening. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched on the heavybag for a spell, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later her and me went for a bike/run.

I did all my studies, practiced my guitar, and read aloud from the molecular biology book.

Cassie and I was invited over to visit Kjtel and Bodie. We had blueberry pie and tea while we watched a sci-fi movie that wasn’t all that good. It started to rain as I was getting ready to leave and waited until it stopped.

I remembered to do my nightly exercises; just have to get it down into a routine and it’ll become automatic.

I did all my studies, practiced my songs on the guitar, and read aloud.

Wednesday 06- cloudy, rain, and windy. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie. We went for a bike/run later in the afternoon.

I did my studies. Practiced my guitar. Did my nighty stretches.

Thursday 07- I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag for a spell, and took Cassie on a mile run. A little later we went for a bike/run before I left for the post office to pick up a used laptop I purchased on Ebay.

I went to Movie Night at our community center and watched, “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974) Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges.

Friday 08- windy and cold. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and took Cassie for a 1.5 mile jog. A little later we went for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I setup the used Lenovo X220 Tablet, i5, 4GB, 320GB, Win 10 Pro. I like it for its smaller screen size of 12.5” and the nice keyboard.

Saturday 09- sunny but a bit cold. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile and a half jog, later a bike/run, and an evening walk.

Played around on my computers.

I did my studies, practiced my guitar, read aloud, and did my nightly stretches.

Sunday 10- a cold damp day. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike/run and an evening walk.

A funny thing happened on my way to the poetry reading today and ended not going (3rd month in a row). After I heard a loud noise I felt the car become kinda wavy. I made it as far as the paved road when I discover the flat. I had to put the donut on and then drive back the way I came to see if I could find whatever I hit, so no one else would run over it.

Monday 11- cloudy and a bit windy with rain starting in the evening. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag for a spell, and took Cassie for a Jog and later for a bike/run.

Went to the community center’s movie night and watched, “Law Abiding Citizen” (2009) starring Jamie Foxx and F. Gary Gray.

Tuesday 12- rained most of the day. I was able to take Cassie for a jog in the evening and then the wind picked up.

I spent most of the day messing around inside the house doing this and that.

Wednesday 13- cloudy, cold, and windy. I did my stretches, jogged a mile and a half with Cassie and took her for a bike/run later in the evening.

I listened to Astronomy Cast lectures Ep:

Started copying all my CD albums over into my old Mac Laptop.

Thursday 14- sunny and cool. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 & 30 pound dumbbells and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike/run.

I finished copying all my CD albums onto the Mac Laptop.

I went to movie night at the community center but played Scrabble with Kjtel, Sara, and Jeff instead of watching the movie “Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses” (2014) starring Danny Trejo and Danny Glover. On leaving I found that my donut spare tire went flat. Had to call AAA to have it towed. Wade the driver showed up about forty minutes later, hooked me up and towed me home; very nice man.

Friday 15- sunny and windy but warmer.

Celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at the community center.

Saturday 16- warmer, nice and sunny. I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

My guest cat escaped during the night a few months ago and we had spent hours looking but never found the poor kitty. Well someone called saying they found a cat that matches the description. I drove my guest to Yucca Valley to get her cat, but it wasn’t her’s. She decided to give the cat a home and we brought it back to her trailer.

Sunday 17- sunny and warm. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a bike/run.

Monday 18- cloudy with lots of wind... I did my stretches and stayed inside with Cassie. Worked on some of my projects I have and writing poems.

Tuesday 19- a wonderful day. I did my stretches and hopped into my truck and headed down with the both the new rim for the flat, and the piece of crap donut tire. I stopped off at Big O Tire and was helped by Diago who fixed the donut but was unable to use the tire from the dented rim. He has to order a new tire for me and it should be in tomorrow he said. Then I went to get the truck smogged at Smoggy’s, it passed and I paid him $65. I stopped off at Stater Bros to get a few supplies. Got home and went online to the DMV and register the truck.

Cassie and I went to visit Kjtel and Bodie. We ate tacos and watched “Ocean’s 8” Starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling; Kjtel and I gave it a B- because the music was too loud and drowned out what the actors were saying.

Wednesday 20- cloudy and windy, but warm. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to collect some packages from the post office in Twentynine, then I went to get my tire at Big O Tire. After I stopped off at McDonald’s for a chicken sandwich I drove to Home Depot to pick up a park bench.

Thursday 21- we had a surprise rain lasting into the evening; started right after I hung my laundry out to dry. I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile and a half run.

I put the park bench together while I did my laundry.

Stayed mostly inside because of the rain.

At 8pm Kjtel picked me up and we went to Smith Ranch drive-in in Twentynine to see “Alita: Battle Angel” (2019) Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Starring Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, and Jennifer Connelly.

Friday 22- very nice sunny day. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie. Later we both went for a bike/run.

I put the inversion table together and tested it out. It was my first time on one and I got stuck. I wasn’t even quarter of the way, just on the easy setting. Kjtel said she has one in LA and will show me some tips on using one.

Saturday 23- nice day but a bit windy; I ain’t complaining. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit the heavybag, and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

Worked repotting some of my aloe vera plants, and then did some work on the new patio measuring things out.

Last night I placed a bid for an old 1983 Kaypro 2 computer and won! My first time winning anything on Ebay! I guess you know by now I am a collector of old computers... kinda a hobby. I enjoy fixing them and running old programs on them.

Sunday 24- a very nice day to kick back. I did my stretches.

Monday 25- a nice sunny day. I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog with Cassie, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

Went to Movie Night and watched “Heat” (1995) Directed by Michael Mann. Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. Intense movie but way too long; 2h and 50m. I believe the film could be edited down to an hour and thirty minutes without losing any meaningful content.

Tuesday 26- hazy day but warm. I did my stretches, yoga, and went for a mile jog with Cassie. Spent a good amount of time hunting down my level to align the base of the patio.

Wednesday 27- another nice hazy day. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I worked on the new patio putting upright the 3 main posts on their piers.

FedEx delivered my new ladder I bought at Home Depot.

I remembered to do my nightly stretches.

Thursday 28- a very windy day. I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog with Cassie, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

I worked on the new patio putting up the cross beams and alining everything up with my level.

Went to movie night and saw, “Triple Frontier” (2019) Directed by J.C. Chandor. With Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund; a real thriller.

Friday 29- windy with sun. I did my stretches and went right to work on the new patio. I worked into the evening until I ran out of screws and nails. I’ll have to go down next week and pick up more building supplies.

Saturday 30- very nice sunny day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag for a spell, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I got all dressed up and drove to potluck trying to avoid the Painted Lady butterflies migrating through our area carrying out Kamikaze attacks on our windshields. There were about 20 denizens of the desert attending. Dyan Carroll, John Jacobsen, Cal Mayers, and Elizabeth West collectively dominated potluck with their fried chicken, broccoli salad, baked beans, roasted potatoes, buttered carrots, hi rollers, and a face stuffing banana pudding trifle. Jeff Dongvillo waltz in with his stick to your ribs corned beef and cabbage. Pretty Patti Hughes carefully ladled out her scrumptious turkey soup to our eagerly awaiting bowls, a side of steaming buttered dinner rolls, peanut butter pie, and dinner mints. Chris VanNortrick presented her earth shattering vegetable chili and rice cupcakes.Yvonne Francis delighted us with two large pizzas and her chocolate brownies. Gil and Bruce hurded up a bunch of animal crackers. Charles Lange brought a donation and a big smile that lit up the room. I can imagine we were all mighty stuffed when we left for home; I know I sure was.

I took Cassie for a bike/run for being a good dog and waiting for me to come home from potluck.

Sunday 31- another nice sunny day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a bike/run.

********************* January’s Potluck **************

Here’s January’s Potluck.. It was cut off at the end of my January Journal along with about 10 days worth of journaling:

Well I blew it. I am entrusted with the potluck list of delicious food that everyone brings. I take this list to write a report, which Annelies adds to her column and sends it away to the Hi-Desert Star to be read on Saturday. This list I lost somewheres between here and there, my backpack to bedroom it just disappeared. All the names and specialty items have gone up in smoke, only sweet memories of eating and the stories we spoke. Spending hours I did rummaging through my desk, and the trash of smelly garbage I do dearly detest. Hoping and searching but I could not find, so I’ll just say Potluck was wonderful, like it is all the time... but I only do wish I had found that dang potluck list.

****************** Poems February 2019 *****************

As I grow older I find it easier to forgive people and learned to avoid those I may have to forgive.

~RD

Sometimes I forget my roots and need to revisit an era when the songs of my youth can drag my soul back down to earth... gently
~RD

Just being yourself, being original is what really matters. Pretenders and their followers suck you in and hold you down. Be crazy, be happy, and happy crazy people will join you in the happiness of being unbounded.

~RD

The older I get the better I feel about getting older 🤗

~RD

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February 2019

Sat, 16 Mar 2019 19:20:56 GMT

February 2019

Friday 01- a very nice day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went into Yucca Valley to get gas, food at Staters Bros, and lumber at Home Depot to build an extension to my south facing patio and move my solar panels there.

I got home and put all the groceries away and then took Cassie for a bike run. Later in the evening we went for a mile jog.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night.

Saturday 02- dark and gloomy and rained most of the day starting around 2pm. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile and a half jog.

I took all the wood I bought off the truck and put them where I’m going to build: 10 2x4x16’ and 10 4x4x8’ I was pretty tired when I got down moving all of this.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night.

Sunday 03- sunny but with a cold breeze. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10&20 lbs dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to our community’s Super Bowl Sunday Game.

I got home around 8pm kinda disappointed the Rams didn’t win.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night.

Monday 04- it rained and drizzled most of the day. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a walk.

I went to our Monday Movie Game Night.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night.

Tuesday 05- very windy all day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I received the shipment from OnTrack that was supposed to be delivered yesterday. It contained the battery for my new laptop.

I droved to Twentynine Palms to pick up a package for an extender and 4GB of Memory at the post office.

I took Cassie for a walk when I got home.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night.

Wednesday 06- again it was very windy. I did my stretches and exercised with the 20 pound weights.

I drove into Yucca to get my 3 propane bottles filled and went to Home Depot to get a few things I need to build my new porch in the back.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night.

Thursday 07- nice day cold night. I did my stretches, worked out on the weight bench, took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to Tractor Supply to purchase a 300 gallon Rubbermaid heavy duty plastic tub that I am going to use as during the summer as a tub. I brought it home, unloaded it, got back in the truck and went to Home Depot to get roll roofing supplies (very heavy) and stopped off at WalMart to pick up a 4 burner barbecue. Took that all home and unloaded it.

Cassie wanted to go for a bike run, so we went for a mile, and later in the evening we went for a walk.

I went to Movie Night at the community center and saw, “The Cloverfield Paradox” I don’t think anyone understood and starring folks I never heard of.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night.

Friday 08- I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog. A little later we went for a bike ride run. I dismantled the old flunky pool I bought last summer and tossed it in the garbage.

I took Cassie for a walk.

I continued to edit my book the rest of the night and finally finished it! There might be some little tweeks I need to make on the poems I planted at the beginning of each chapter but it looks mighty good to me. 114000 words written! Longest dang book I ever wrote.

Saturday 09- a little cloudy with some clouds with a high of 50 degrees. I did my stretches, core trainer, worked out on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie. I later took her for a bike run.

In the evening we journeyed over to visit Kjtel for a spell and had tea. Her Mac laptop was broken. I took it home and fixed it.

Sunday 10- really cold and windy starting around noon and lasting all night. I did my stretches and Cassie and me went on a 1.5 mile jog. I was getting ready for the Poetry reading but decided it was too cold and windy to sit in the outside theater. I called and talked to my Brother on Skype for almost an hour. My good friend Jimmy then called on his way to Tucson and we spent about 2 hrs yammer on phone getting up-to-date with our lives. I found out later from Kjtel that they had moved the poetry reading inside.

Monday 11- nice sunny day but kinda cold. I did my stretches, yoga, and went for a mile jog with Cassie. Later I took her for a long bike run she likes so much. She yelps and jumps with joy when I start bringing the bike out and it’s a joy for me to watch her enthusiasm.

I been digging out Kelly’s driveway on her property so I can get her trailer moved off my property and onto her’s.

Had a nice talk with my sister Lynn.

I went to the Movie Night and we watched something about cars “Death Race” starring Jason Statham; very intense.

Tuesday 12- overcast most of the afternoon. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a bike run.

I drove to Home Depot to pick up some more lumber and roofing material. Stopped off at WalMart to purchase a cover for my new barbecue.

Arrived home, unloaded everything, took Cassie for a walk.

Wednesday 13- cloudy with sprinkles all dang day long. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, jogged a mile with Cassie. I decided I better do as much exercises today because it looks like heavy rain tomorrow.

I needed to screw down the windows of the guest trailer; still waiting for my guest to leave.

Now that my book is almost complete I can get back to my studies: pre-algebra, anatomy coloring book, Python programing. I read aloud from the molecular biology book. The reason I am reading aloud is in the hopes this can make me a better speaker at the poetry readings.

Cassie and I went for an evening jog.

Watched some educational videos as I do this all the time; I just haven’t mentioned them here in my journal.

Wrote a poem about getting old.

Thursday 14- rained all day and into the night. Lake Lucille formed at the bottom of my hill. I ain't going anywheres today or maybe for the next couple of days until it dries up some. It might not look deep but it's 2 to 3 feet with mud underneath. Cars get stuck there all the time when it's flooded. Me and Cassie just stayed inside and kept each other company.

Friday 15- clouds but some sunshine here and there to charge up my batteries. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike run and an evening mile jog. I did the poop patrol.

I started digging out a driveway on Kelly’s property so I can get her moved out and over there. I have to dig out another driveway on my property so I can move her trailer off.

I remembered to do my “nightly exercises” tonight.

I did all my studies and practiced playing my guitar.

Saturday 16- sunny but breezy. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike run, and then an evening mile jog.

I did all my studies and practiced guitar. I read aloud from the molecular biology book.

Sunday 17- very windy and cold; it rained in the evening around 8pm. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavy bag, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a evening mile jog.

I remembered to do my “nightly exercises” tonight.

I did all my studies, practiced guitar, and read aloud,

Monday 18- sunny with a cold breeze. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to Home Depot in Yucca to pick up 12 15/32 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. Oriented Strand Board, some nails, and 10 1-1/2 in. x 1-1/2 in. x 10 ft. Galvanized Steel Drip Edge Flashing.

I got home and took Cassie for a bike run. Kjtel dropped by on her way home from LA to say hi. She helped me unload the the plywood.

I stopped by her house before going to Movie Night (Wheelman) to visit for a short spell. I got back home at 9:30pm and was mighty tired, didn’t want to do much but read a few educational and self help stuff on YouTube, and surf the web.

Tuesday 19- a very sunny but cold day. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 2- pound dumbbells, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went again to Yucca Valley to WalMart and Home Depot to purchase fencing material two rolls of 5 ft. x 100 ft. 14-Gauge Welded Wire, twenty-one 1-3/4 in. x 3-1/2 in. x 5 ft. Green Steel Fence T-Post, and twelve 2 in. x 4 in. x 104-1/4 in. Prime Green Douglas Fir Stud.

I arrived home and got it all unloaded and took Cassie for a bike/run, and later we went for an evening mile jog.

I did all my studies and played my guitar.

Wednesday 20- very cold with high winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, hit at the heavybag for a short spell, and jogged a mile with Cassie. Later we went on a bike/run for a mile and did an evening run. I wanted to get as much exercise in because it might snow tomorrow says the weather forecast.

I did my studies. Practiced my guitar.

Thursday 21- snow! It's officially snowing here in the high desert! It's Cassie's first snowfall and she doesn't know what to do but blends in very well with her black and white fur. Cassie woke me up to let her outside at around 7-7:30AM I usually don't get up this early except when she want out. I think it might have been earlier because I was so awestruck by all the snow when I let Cassie out to pee I didn't think to check the time. Cassie didn’t want to go out into it until I walked out and then she romped around in the snow trying to catch the snowflakes.

Friday 22- cold high winds blowing hard enough to chill your bones to the marrow. I did my stretches.

Saturday 23- I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile run. Later we went for a bike/run.

It’s been one hell of a month being drenched in rain and finally by lots of snow. Over twenty denizens of desert braved our bumpy potholed infested washed out unpaved rural roads, crossing deep rutted large pools of standing muddy water to reach our community potluck. Chris VanNortrick stirred up a veg bean stew with cornbread. Jeff Dongvillo simmered a pot of apples and beans. Mack Dodd brought a tasty tuna salad. Elizabeth West stuffed us all with her stuffing, mashed potatoes, and blueberry cobbler cranberry jelly. Kjtel Byers tossed us an apple blueberry ginger salad. Kip Fjeld brought his famous guacamole and chips. Patti with an i, whipped us up a scrumptious cranberry salad and sweet potato pie. Yvonne Francis inspired us with her asparagus alfredo. Dyan Carroll basted two fat turkeys and brought steamy gravy drippings from the pan, a broccoli salad, and a mouthwatering lemon trifle, yikes! We were all content to sit around yammering on about this and that and other things of great importance while stuffing our faces with the most yummy grub you’ll ever find on planet earth.

Sunday 24- nice sunny day but a little cold still. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile run. Later we went for a bike/run.

I messed around with the Lenovo X131e laptop trying to get another OS onto it.

Monday 25- nice sunny and warmer day. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I drove to Home Depot to purchase 2” by 10” PVC pipe and 16 pavers.

I was asked by a friend to check on my neighbor Roger and found him to be okay. I stopped off at Kjtel’s for tea and we took our doggies for a walk.

I went to movie night. We watched “Logan’s Run” (1976) Jenny Agutter and Michael York.

Tuesday 26- overcast all day and into the evening; colder. I did my stretches and Cassie and I went for a mile jog. Later I took her for a bike/run.

I drove to the post office to pick up another Lenovo X131e but this one comes with an AMD processor.

Canceled my Boost Mobile service I wasn’t using the service much.

At 7:30pm I attended Ruth Denison's anniversary of her passing at the Dhamma Dena center.

Wednesday 27- nice, sunny and warmer. I did my stretches, worked out with the 10 & 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run.

I went again to Home Depot to purchase more lumber; ten 2x4x8 and four 4x4x8.

Cassie and I were invited over to Kjtel’s for a sandwich and a movie, “Black Sea” (2014) director Kevin Macdonald... starring Jude Law. Kept me and Kjtel on the edge of our seats. Very intense and emotional movie. Sometimes we couldn't make out what the actors were saying because of their thick accents, but we figured it out by the way the Director worked the scenes. Very well done.

Thursday 28- a very nice sunny day. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile and a half job. Later we went for a bike/run.

I messed around with my computers loading up Linux Mint on one.

I went to Movie and Game night at the community center and saw, “The Prince” (2014) directed by Brian A. Miller, starring Jason Patric, Bruce Willis, John Cusack, and Rain. We all had to laugh that none of the bad guys could shot and hit anything but the walls and floors.

****************** Poems February 2019 *****************

You might believe I'm old, dirt poor and crazy for wearing old tattered jeans.
My clothes are so threadbare but ya knows they be clean.
You might think I'm lazy cause I sleep until noon.
Never been a morning person I write into night's gloom.
You might see me ponder lost in thoughts so deep.
You may learn of my weakness as I talk in my sleep.
Never concerned about wealth, you might think I have failed.
It's just I don’t give a damn as I wander through life's dark clouds of hail.
But it really doesn’t matter what you think or believe.
You’ll be old and crazy too if you live as long as me.
~RD

While journeying through life’s little mysteries and missteps remember to treat everything as an adventure no matter how mundane and always greet your dog with enthusiasm.

~RD

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