Lawful neutral

 

That's a gamer thing:  lawful, chaotic, good, evil, and neutral.  Note the carts are sorted, the little ones together, the bigger ones together, and they are in the corral.  Neutral because it's outside the store.  If they were returned inside the store, it would be "lawful, good".  I don't know why, but the shopping cart analogy gave me something to hang my hat on, and when I returned my cart at the store the other day and found this configuration it reminded me of the meme.

For those of you who remember last year's chaos trying to fight the woodpecker while raising young puppy?  The blasted bird is back, knocking a fresh new hole in my siding.  I'm not worried about Ember eating the insulation and getting sick anymore, she's grown beyond that phase, but I am going to have to call out the handyman again!

Ember got a longer than usual leash walk Saturday morning, clocking in at 1.2 miles.  I was hoping to at least take the edge off her energy before the family event.

The Saturday afternoon Easter Egg hunt was a success.  It was a beautiful day for it, which is good because Easter Sunday is supposed to be chilly and wet.

During the Easter Egg hunt we swapped off holding Ember's leash, since I don't quite trust her to not go after things on the ground.  Sometimes my son held her, other times it was me, or my daughter in law.  I've got it in this shot, since my son was busy doing a dad thing, helping his foster son reach they egg he could see but needed to climb a tree to retrieve.

The kiddo had five cheerleading adults giving him conflicting advice on where to look next, but the inevitable result was that he found ALL the candy and money-filled eggs.

The egg hunt was followed up by foster dad and son shooting hoops while Grandma Barb watched the two dogs, who exercised one another well, and took rest breaks in the shade from time to time.

Dinner was ham, mashed potatoes, and asparagus spears, and dessert was carrot cake from one of the better bakeries in town.  A tight basketball game on the TV ended with the team son was rooting for taking an overtime win.

It was easy to let the time just slip away while we enjoyed one another's company, and Ember settled in at my feet and began to snooze.  At this point I looked at my watch and thought "no wonder, it's nearly 6 p.m."  At this point, I bundled her into the car and brought us both home with leftovers in a bag.

There was a protest planned for the State Capitol from 3 to 7, and there were still a couple of die-hard protestors in front of the State Capitol when I drove by.

Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025

Brrrr!  Chilly and drippy.  How is it that a temperature that would have felt "mild" six weeks ago is now "cold"?  The wheel weaves as the wheel will.  (That is a reference from The Wheel of Time fantasy series, for those of you who aren't geeky in that genre.)

As dark and overcast as it was, and as tired as Ember was from her very busy Saturday, it was pretty easy to ask her to crate in time for me to drive over and meet my elder sister for church and brunch.  Easter is our big catchup day, and as it turned out it was just us ladies, as her gentleman friend opted to go to the church to which he belongs.  He and she hold membership in different churches, across town from one another.

As every year, the music, the message... masterful.  I love seeing the things that are the same and the things that are evolving, year after year.  I teared up a bit during a couple of the traditional hymns.  Yes, this is my cultural heritage.

We'll have another sister catch up day in just six weeks or so, when we drive up together to a family wedding in Omaha.  

And "little" Ember?  Stayed patiently in her crate for four full hours, and we even napped together for a bit in the afternoon as it kept on dropping rain from on high.  We are grateful for the moisture!

Marathon Monday, 2025

I tend to use the Boston Marathon day as a day to remember and honor my brother, who so many Sparkers knew as MOBYCARP.  His screen name, in case anyone is curious and doesn't already know, is a punny reference to being a big fish in a small pond.  A "fish" comes from his chess playing days, smart enough to recognize the bait, and dumb enough to swallow it.  

Kevin ran and finished the Boston Marathon 3 times, beginning in 2016, at age 60.  The last time he finished was in 2018.  In 2019 he and I were there together as spectators, as he had qualified but was injured and unable to run it.  My laptop's wallpaper is from that year, when I ran the 5K, and he was in a boot.

Sunday evening, I got a text message conversation with Laura, who some of you remember as STRONGDOG.  She met us in Boston all four years and kept me company as a spectator the years he ran.  She showed us the sights.  Not just me, but our mutual friend OVERWORKEDJANET came up a couple of those years as well.  The Boston Sparkmeets are still big in my memory book.

This morning as I read the news of the passing of Pope Francis, I thought of Laura again, as she is a devout Catholic.  It's a huge reminder, the two things happening so close together... we are all mortal, and will one day leave others we care about behind.  

As Kevin always ended his blogs, here's your message:  Life is good. 

Cherish it and Spark on!

Ember goes for a car ride... and a park walk

 

Red winged blackbirds are a feature of our local ecosystem, and this one was preening himself on the edge of Holmes Lake Monday morning.  I am working at introducing Ember to new places to "go for a walk", and this is a pretty busy park, along the walking / running / biking trail.  So we took it slow and easy.  Out of the car, into the shade under the trees.  Sit beside the path and watch people go by.  Cross the path and find the goose and duck poo along the shore.

Be greeted by a few passersby, including a family with a toddling child who wanted to "pet the puppy".  Said toddler's mommy and Ember's mommy were careful about the introduction, keeping things well under control, and the toddler was thrilled that the puppy licked her.

We kept walking, now on the trail, now slightly off it, on the grass, to the parking lot that some years had been the transition area for the CSG triathlon, my first, 12 years ago.  Happy memories, now shared with a puppy, as we walked up what would have been where the finish chute was.

My goal that year was to finish in under two hours this "sprint distance" triathlon (500 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run), and I made it.  

Not quite the last swimmer out, but almost.

Made up some time on the bike (Brenda Starr Trek).

Fell on run, got up shaking finger at the photographer and told him if he caught it, I'd buy it... and I did!  The sequence that illustrates "fall seven times, get up eight".

Ember was a happy puppy after our outing.  She napped again in her crate.  She did business when she got up, then we went for a 3:30 p.m. walk around the block in the warmth.  Then she didn't seem to want to eat her supper. I hand-fed her part of the kibble, she took it.  I started to giggle at the image of myself as "a Jewish mother" to a puppy, the stereotype of running after a child, crying "eat, eat!"

The actual conversation was between Ember's eyes and posture, and my voice.  Her eyes go to the purple "treat bag", from whence come her chews and wraps and so on.  I said, "You've already had one of every treat that's in there today!  You have had enough treats... you need your supper!"  Ember's eyes plead, "I'm starving, and that kibble is boring!"  Still, she ate it when I put it in my hand under her chin.

Life is good!  Spark on!

Half of a new weekend (Friday and Saturday)

Back to the quilt photo for today, because the chore of the day was washing the bedding.  Including the pillows, which I swear I bought before I found out the company owner was off the walls down conspiracy theory rabbit holes and insurrection planning.  They are still very fine pillows, washable to re-fluffed pristine-ness.  But I'm not sending any more money that fellow's way.

I was hungry this morning for something a little different and had a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast.  I declared it a carb renewal day, in my mind, with a baked potato, and my goulash for additional eating before closing the window at 12:45 p.m.  I feel well fed, not over-fed, and that's where one wants to be.

Friday afternoon was swallowed alive by the taxes.  I was printing out receipts and forms I receive online and using the tax software to enter and calculate.  I guess I must be some kind of control freak because I do my own, don't hire a pro.  The one time I did hire a pro to do our taxes, he messed it up, but I'm satisfied with my tax software.  

I'm not quite as much a control freak as my brother was.  He not only volunteered to help others with their taxes, but he also critiqued the tax software for not handling things in quite as precise detail as he would have liked.  And his sisters all smiled and nodded.  Tax software handles most of what I have to deal with.  It's an annual double check (for me) that I know where the retirement finances are coming from and that I'm doing my bit giving back, too.  I still have one major tax report due, and it's coming in about a week, but now I know that when it comes, it will be a simple matter to finish up.

Saturday morning I was doing a bit of digital cleanup, and tripped over this old collage from my first triathlon, in 2012.  Ten years ago last Summer, it was.  Oh, my, the memories.  This is my "fall down seven times, get up eight" series.  You see, when I took that fall, I wasn't too far from the finish line, and it was right in front of a professional photographer.  As I was getting up, shaking my finger and laughing, I said, "if you took that photo, I'll buy it".  I was true to my word.

This is not the only time I have fallen while racing or training.  Those falls, especially the one that resulted in six stitches and a concussion, are one of the major reasons I no longer race.  But the bug starts to bite me when I'm feeling good, or when I get new running shoes.  As the gal who fitted me on Thursday afternoon said, "we still feel like teenagers", and that's something my mother used to say, too.  You don't notice it until you get a bit older, but when "nothing hurts", you really do still feel like a teenager.  Of course when the joints ache, you sometimes feel every day of your lifeline, maybe even longer!

Saturday was also grocery day.  There's this feeling of accomplishment because I remembered to pick up a birthday card and actually got it in the mail... I'm usually terrible at this sort of thing!

Felt so proud of me I decided I deserved a reward walk, so I put on the pink mud shoes.  And went and walked around the lake, casting a thought toward the ice fishermen out there in 49℉ temperature with some open patches of water in parts of the lake.  But then again, it's been good and cold for a matter of a couple of weeks, so the ice is probably pretty solid.

It was a longer walk than I've done recently, but felt OK.  There were muddy spots, and icy spots requiring "penguin steps", and lots of other people also taking advantage of a nice day.  Dog-walkers, baby strollers, even some runners including a shirtless young man with admirable delts who whizzed by as only the young and immortal can!

Home again, back to my streaming of Endeavor, and thinking of brewing some Earl Grey, and contemplating an early bedtime.  It's been a satisfying Saturday.

Here's hoping for a satisfying, peaceful weekend for all who drop by to read, doing what it takes to preserve health, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Life is still good.

Keep on Sparking!

🔥👀✨💖

Decompression and memories of Dad

After that stretch of "people-y" days, I was pretty much exhausted, and have been hiding in my cave for over a week!

Kitties in the sunshine, Saturday afternoon.

I completely forgot that "the kids" were running a 5K Saturday morning (March 26), and stayed abed.  When I got up, I saw their Facebook start line post and thought, "oops".  Anyway, they finished.  Son's GF bested him by about two minutes, thanks to his usual ankle issues.  Since last year's roll of the ankle, he's been rehabbing, but it's been an issue for years.  Whenever I have got to the finish line in ANY distance race before him, it's been because of his lingering injury issues.  Beat up on your body, and it doesn't just bounce right back.  Anyway, it's true for most of us.

Still, I'm glad they did it.  Fitness is important, young or old.  And I'm at the point in life where 40 looks young to me!

I did not want to get up on Sunday morning the 27th... stayed abed until after 7 a.m.   I wandered down memory lane watching one of my dad's old favorite movies, The Thomas Crown Affair.  I watched the more modern remake, with Pierce Brosnan, because that was what was coming up on my "recommended" list.  I still remember the 1968 version, which would have been my dad's favorite, as he passed away the year the more recent one came out, so I doubt he ever saw it.

Still, I can imagine his small smile and lifted eyebrow, following the misdirection.  He enjoyed Bond movies, "Our Man Flint", and so on.  More and more as I remember my parents I realize what complex and rich (in the cultural sense) they were as humans.  I realize that we are all nuanced.  

As kids we see our parents as setting the rules.  We don't often think of the rules they are trying to follow themselves, or of their growth journeys.  Or do we only think of those journeys when we reach that stage ourselves?

Anyway, it gave me another pleasant reverie of Dad as a whole person, with his own pathway through life.

Kevin time

 

This has become a family thing.  You see, on the day my brother Kevin (known to Sparkers as MOBYCARP) died, he was wearing bib #404 in the Shoreline Half Marathon.  They retired the bib, in his honor, from that race.

Those of you who know the story (from 2019), know it, but ever since that time, whenever Ace or I see 404 in any context, we pause and remember our brother.

For those of you who do internet searches, you are probably familiar with it in this form, "Page not found":

As my sister said, spotting the error last week:  "What used to bring frustration now brings warm feelings of love". We choose to see that, we choose to feel that.

From 2015... three sibling "runners". He drove 1100 miles to run this race with me. Our tag-along sister was not to be left out and trained up to also run / walk that half marathon.

Three years later, I returned the favor. I drove in the other direction to run/walk a half to his full marathon in September 2018, in his back yard, in New York state.

Cling to love. Love never dies.

LIFE is good. Savor it. Cherish it. Work to preserve it, but never forget that quality trumps quantity.

Be kind. Do what you can, when you can, and live with the goal to have no regrets.

In the pursuit of life, Spark on!

It's wrapping day, here.

 

Pebble jar December 18, non-leap year

You better watch out...

The pebble jar calendar, in its Christmas decor, looks about the same every year when it's time to wrap the presents.  See the dwindling number of days left in the year (little jar, center front)?  See the growing heap of days spent (big jar, center of wreath)?  Yes, I do better with non-living decor!  😏

I always intend to wrap early, provided I'm doing any presents in a given year, that is.  This year, I am determined that they will be wrapped TODAY, not waiting for Christmas eve day.

Christmas eve day is reserved, this year, for baking a couple of treats to go to the gathering.  Wrapping and baking don't mix very well, at least in my own mind.

Tools

Results, so far

It takes me a long time, and it is not one of my strong skill sets.  But getting there!  The stocking is from son's deployment to Afghanistan.  The name at the top is "The Wizard".  It needs to move from my house to his... this is a good time.

I think I shall leave the Two Blind Brothers box "naked", as well as a "fish tank" gift for the young people.

"What is a Fish Tank gift?" you might ask.

Family lore has it that one year on my son's birthday, he asked for a small fish bowl.  His father got him a 29 gallon aquarium!  And this forced me into the setting up of said aquarium, using up a good deal of the birthday time.  Son really didn't want this aquarium, it was something his Dad wanted.  So whenever we go shopping for gifts, if we choose the gift WE want, instead of something that really suits the recipient, in our family we call it a "fish tank" and laugh at the inside joke.

My friend Gerri and I borrowed kayaks from my son and his GF to provide swim leg support for a triathlon in September, and we noticed a couple of things that would be useful if we ever needed to borrow them again:  pool noodles (to help as flotation for a swimmer in trouble) and safety whistles (to call a power boat to the rescue for a swimmer is even worse trouble).  So we went in together to purchase these little trinkets.  But they definitely qualify under the family definition as "fish tank" gifts because Gerri and I are the triathlon support kayakers, not my son and his girlfriend.

Oh, I have real gifts for them, too, but it's tradition to bring humor in the bag, and the beat up box from the two blind brothers and the fish tank gift should supply that!

Does your family have any quirky traditions when it comes to gift exchanges?

Here's hoping you've had a good day, this one and only Saturday, December 18, 2021 we'll ever get!  But whatever kind of day it's been, it's at its closing now, and it had been "enough".  Be kind to yourself and nurture your evening with bedtime routines and restful sleep.  You are loved.  You are valued.  You are worth taking care of... in the only time we have... the present!

🧧🎁🎄🎅🤶🤶🍬🍬💖

Happy Tuesday

 

Sunrise... well, a little after sunrise

Grounding myself in the present with a photo from my back deck.  

I binged on the Boston marathon yesterday.  Not just the live streaming, but in the afternoon, the Olympic channel was re-running the 2019 race.  I remembered watching the replay coverage of that race from my hotel room in Boston.  I remembered noticing the moment as the elite women rounded the corner at Kenmore Square the background of the McDonald's, where Kevin, Laura, and I were spectators.

Kevin was wearing a disposable, bright yellow poncho that day, as it had been rainy in the morning.  Here he is with Laura.  

We are a mile out from the finish line, planned carefully for our own needs and the weather, since he was in an air-boot and we did not want it to get wet, and we needed nearby access to restrooms, since standing through a marathon as a spectator is a four hour thing!  Kevin picked our spot... where the runners need a boost in morale.

He said, "at this point, they are feeling pretty beat up.  By the end of the block they will see the sign that tells them there is only a mile to the finish line and they will start to feel a whole lot better!"

The elite women come by after the wheel chair athletes, and before the men.  As the lead women rounded the corner, we saw the leader striding by, with her accompanying photographer on a motorcycle.  I snapped this photo at the time.

Yesterday, I was looking for that moment on the replay.  Alicia asked me for a screen shot, but it's hard to catch!  I took a snapshot of the TV screen... and in that bright area where the sunshine washes over the McDonalds sign, a bit behind the runner... you see a bright yellow poncho.  That's where we were standing.  If you click on the photo and it gets bigger, you might be able to see the red dots where I circled our group.

It was good to relive that memory, and now I can relive it with yes, sadness that he is no longer with us, but more of the joy that we had of sharing those times together.  

And life goes on

After that deep one yesterday, I was looking for a simple thing to be grateful for this morning.  I found it in the warmth, aroma, flavor of my morning brew.  I had put together a mug of the Amaretto.  

The heat kicked on in the morning chill.  It was a cool 44℉ morning.  

Next, I spotted the little boy across the street, so full of springs in the cool crisp day.  His dad and he were apparently looking for something... for school?  But what I was noticing is the energy in that little guy.  Dad gave him a kiss on the top of his head, buckled the son into the car's backseat, and then off they drove!

The pep talk

Life.  Amazing thing, isn't it?  Those could well become cherished memories for their future, the simple act of having a morning routine.  Cherish yourself and your family, your neighbors and friends.  Cherish the nature around you.  Cherish the things that make your life possible.  Cherish both routine and breaks from it.  Cherish the recovery process you may need following "binge" things like my memory trip yesterday.

Let's get out and live it today, best as we can, making choices to support our health, physical, mental, and spiritual.  Because each and every one of us is worth it, and this is the only Tuesday, October 12, 2021 we will ever get!  Life is good.  Spark on!

✨🎇💖🔥