The end game

 2022 is coming to a close

What kind of a year was it for you?  A good number of "happy" kinds of things happened this year.  My son getting engaged.  A week-long visit from the grand-dog.  A new fence.  The air conditioner being replaced (OK, maybe not "happy", but a bit mixed).

Were there challenges?  Sure!  

I have an overall positive sense of "taking charge" over my own destiny.  The intermittent fasting is doing its job from the perspective of feeling better on a daily basis.  I can feel myself normalizing, if you get that general idea.

Is there still an infinite to-do list?  Oh, yeah!

2023 is ahead... 

That means there are things to look forward to... a wedding in April, followed by another week-long visit from the grand-dog, for starters.  Which is great motivation for staying in shape.  Grandma has to be able to keep that 75 pounds of muscle in line.

Also on the looking forward to list:  cataract assessment and possibly surgery.  Timing on that could be "interesting".  Which reminds me, I only have a couple of weeks to get my "Boston Suggestion list" ready for my dentist (her husband got in to the Marathon!)

I have floated the idea in my mind of returning to an in-person run, like a 5K... but... dancing at the edges of my mind is the Havelock Charity run, in early June, and it's a 10K.  I haven't even started any form of interval training yet... could I possibly be ready for that one?

Dreams!

Reading: an online chat with Lacey led me to discover there is a newer Dragonriders of Pern novel, this one written by Anne McCaffrey's daughter Gigi.  I kind of like that her children are writing in her world, now that she's gone.  It's a writing family.  Anyway, it came out in 2019, and I had been paying attention to other things.  So I ordered it.  It should arrive in time for the New Year.

Besides that one, I still have to finish An Immense World, Fast. Feast. Repeat., and White Rage.  All non-fiction.  And I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, but I've taken them on, so trying to make myself "work" on them.  I'll make Dragon's Code my reward reading!

What about habits?  I'm going to try to watch/listen to less TV.  Reading is better for me!  Maybe listen to more music, that's good for the brain, too!

And the house?  Time to resume the de-stuffing project!  Somehow, I've been retired five years now, and while I started out well with the house, the pandemic put the skids on it, and I've not had a proper re-start.

A fresh new year turns us in the direction of goals, dreams and desires to move forward with our lives!

Your turn:

What are your dreams and desires for 2023?  Anything big looming in your near future?  Something to look forward to?  A project to work on a day at a time?

Let's do it!

Life is good!  It's better when we share.  Spark on!

Birthday outing? To the dog park!

Mother Nature was kind in giving us a 40 degree (F) plus day.  Even though there was a breeze, it was nice enough for an outdoor birthday outing.  

They have put a new agility course in the dog park nearest my house!  So for my birthday treat I got to go tramp around the park while my son and his lady worked at getting Carl to at least approximate some of the obstacles.

We have treats, Carl... you go over?  Through? The obstacle?

Carl was having none of this one

Carl got the hang of this one pretty well.

Son tried to demonstrate the desired behavior. 
Did not work.

The mental challenge of the obstacle course wore Carl out sooner than a normal romp in the park would have.  That and the fact that several other dogs were trying the course and they interrupted training to go chase one another around for a while.

We have to have one with proof of my own presence, photo credit to my daughter-in-law to be.  Carl got lots of attention and treats, too.

Tomorrow I will have my one trainer appointment for the Holiday week.  The trainer is headed off to meet his latest grandchild.  All his children and their families will gather in Colorado.  I will be baking for Thursday.

It is shaping up to be a good Holiday season!  And I have two new books to try on, thanks to Lacey.

One with new insights into our beloved fellow inhabitants of the globe, the animals and how they see the world.  Lacey had heard the author on a podcast and that spurred her purchase.

The other was originally published in 1912, so it should be fascinating, since that would be pre-civil rights movement.  They updated it for release in this century, and I'm curious to see how that affected it.  I'm a few pages in, and I can tell it is going to be a compelling narrative.

Here's hoping everyone had a peaceful and healthy and safe Sunday.  The photos out of Buffalo, NY are incredible with their 77 inches of snow in a day!  

Life is good.  Spark on!

🔥💖🐕