life in the old lane

Caught a pair of American Gold Finches loading up on thistle seeds this afternoon. Most birds will try for insects as they prepare for breeding. But the American Goldfinch is a devout vegetarian. 

Still not a wildlife photographer. Don’t think it is going to happen in this lifetime.

Late this afternoon I got roped into taking some “staged” people shots. The subjects were a couple of adorable high school girls. It would be poor form to put them up. But, trust me. They were cute. 

Can someone please tell me how I got this old? It really is baffling.

Oh, I forgot. My next-door neighbor has Covid. He is not the only one so affected here at The Asylum. Since I was having dinner with one of the 90+ ladies, I decided to do a Covid selfie. Negative. For now.

Just because you are lumpy, wrinkled, and have loose skin doesn’t mean that you aren’t wonderful.

Works for this designer orange from Japan. And, if we are really lucky it works for us old people too.

 

I just did whatever I wanted to do today. Didn’t feel one bit guilty about not doing anything. I have fallen in with a bad crowd of women. They are always doing good stuff. I am not much of a doer. 

Yesterday I also wanted to rescue this video from the Norway Trip Dump. 

The ferry stopped for about 4 hours in Kirkenes. It was the turn around point. The day before I had taken a bus to the northern most point in Europe.  It was sort of fake. Just a place for a photo op. 

But 3,500 people live in Kirkenes. !0% of them are Russians. Up until recently Kirkenes and Russia were best of friends.  Many of the signs in town are in Russian and Norwegian. 

Anyhow, after breakfast, I decided to walk to exciting downtown Kirkenes. It was Sunday. And Norway isn’t very busy on Sunday.

This is the first 7 minutes of the walk to town. It was snowing. The wind was blowing. There was snow everywhere. I knew that if I fell I would be covered in snow before I could get up. It was one of the more memorable parts of the trip. A simple walk. On Sunday morning. 

Look at it full screen. Enjoy the total end of the world experience. (I don’t expect anyone to actually watch it to the end. Nothing changes. It keeps snowing. I keep walking.)

Missed the cherry blossoms. The crab apples in the strip mall next door will have to suffice.

I hate making the “right” decision. This afternoon, I had a free hour. I wanted to edit a video, fold some paper, read a book, or take a little nap. But I knew that the “right” thing to do was to go for a walk. So, I did the walk. All about maintaining the body so it can continue to edit videos, make origami, read books and take naps. 

And in the mail, my new Global Entry Card. I finished the process and had the picture taken in Orlando after 24 hours of travel hassle. This is the result.

One can only say: If I look like that then I really need a vacation! Anyhow, I am good to travel for another 5 years. I hope so. 

My Asylum Sister, Betty, and I celebrated our 159th birthday this evening. It is so so good to be surrounded by wonderful friends. 

Tacos, cheap wine, and great chocolate cake and coffee. That was the menu.

And yes, you may notice that it is still light outside. We are old people. We usually eat at 5:45. The plan is to miss the 6 PM rush. By 7 PM they are rolling up the rugs in the dining room.

Barre class, yoga, party, that’s enough for one day. Big event in my tomorrow is “wine seminar”. I am going as a substitute. Have to be on my best behavior especially if they start in on “chewy tannins” and “cigar boxy”. 

Spent the day knitting data together. As a result, my eyes are shot. So, why not look out of my 3 windows.

Going to go drink some tea and listen to an audiobook now. Not going to look at anything. I might even ask Alexa to turn out all the lights. 

Still sort of lounging aimlessly around today. Tomorrow morning I will launch myself into action. At the very least I will work on my work project. I don’t know why I feel guilty about just wallowing around reading and drinking coffee. But, I do. Too damn many years being a participant in the rat races I guess. 

What have I done to be fatigued? 

Telegram to General G. B. McClellan:
Washington City, D.C. Oct. 24. 1862
Majr. Genl. McClellan
I have just read your despatch about sore tongued and fatigued horses. Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigue anything?
A. Lincoln

This is one of my favorite telegrams. 

Haven’t been in these pants since Xmas Day. And, I might need them for my trip to London at the end of May. Leaving May 20th. Heading to the Chelsea Flower Show and then off on a genteel bus trip to see the Cotswolds. And have tea. Lots of tea. Talk about outside of my comfort zone! Going with one of The Asylum sisters.  Coming home by myself.

Tired today. Because for the last few days, I have been waking up an hour earlier every morning. It was 3AM this morning. At this rate, I will be waking up before I go to bed by the end of the month. Maybe that is how we die. Waking up and going to sleep merge and we vanish. 

So, I was tired all day.  Which means that I accomplished nothing. Well, I did discover that June 2 – 5 or thereabout is going to be the queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It is a special 4 Day Bank Holiday. And, I suppose there will be much celebration. Parades, fireworks???  Do I want to stay in London for the festivities? Or run like hell away? The bus trip is over on May 29th.

Origami Bunnies make me happy. They are a very forgiving model. But, sort of fussy about paper. And I am still learning about those origami balls. They aren’t so much fun to make. But they are fun to hold and toss around. 

I made a video today for our asylum residents’ website and it seems to be causing some issues on some iPads – including mine. So, I am going to stick it here just to see what happens. (I normally use Vimeo, but this is YouTube which is what our residents’ website demands.)

Asylum management has decided that we need more outdoor recreation. So, they have installed a pickleball court, a bocce ball court, and there will soon be a putting astroturf.

We had a basketball hoop. The first day it was up, one of the residents broke a finger. It disappeared. But, lots of money has been spent on this putting astroturf. It used to be the dog bathroom. Sort of wondering how this will play out. Big money on bocce ball too. 

One of my friends suggested that management was trying to kill us off. Another suggested that management would not want too many of us to die at the same time. So, she proposed that there should be Chief Culling Officer.

Nobody gets out alive. 

I don’t understand all I know about Gustav Vigeland. Like what’s with the lizard people. Whatever he was smoking, I want some.

And while we are thinking about strange Norwegian stuff. The Strindens Promenade Orchester doesn’t always color inside the lines.

Today, I was really running in circles trying to figure out how to get some data for yet another scholarly publication about covid. You know, this really isn’t how I imagined spending my declining years. But, it’s kinda cool. 

Trying to think about a long-scheduled trip to England at the end of May. And, the guy who I rented from last year in Kona wants a commitment for this winter. Too much for my tiny brain to process. Did you know that your brain actually shrinks as you age? Unlike your midsection which expands. 

If you think you are having fun then you are having fun,

Just a few images from Bergen. 

Felt sort of lazy today. So, I sort of indulged myself. 

Madelyn Albright died. I hate it when people my age die. It just drives home how little time I have left in the game. Death is the end only if the game is all about me. It isn’t.

For something different, The Asylum celebrated Persian AKA Iranian New Year tonight. The lamb chops were fine, the wine was flowing, the entertainment was colorful, the company at my table was excellent. 

My day was fine. Barre class didn’t happen.  Zoom yoga drove home the hard truth that at my age I should hit the mat frequently. I was able to log into the hospital system. And, of course, my stuff got to the CPA just fine. So, at this instant, life is good.