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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. 
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| For quite some time, we've spent most holidays at home, just my wife and the dogs and me. Of course, it wasn't always by choice, but because everyone wants the holidays off. There have been a few in the recent past that we had a chance to travel, but it was still rushed and uncertain if I would need to head home and work or actually get the time off. In fact, it was just a few years back that almost happened. It was the first time in many years that we managed to set up time off for Christmas and travel to spend the holiday with family. Only a few days, with a lot of driving to see everyone, but we had planned it out and were looking forward when I got a call of someone sick and it was looking like a day and half into our "vacation" I would have to head for home and get to work as soon as possible. But, we got a surprise when we found another person who would pick up the shifts and make it possible for us to finish out time off and see everyone, as planned. This year, it's not as difficult. I work from home so I'm flexible. My wife, however, needs to go by her work schedule, but if she's scheduled off she doesn't have to pick up if someone calls in. It's nice to know we can take off and go see family for holidays and not have to cut the visit short. Of course, she had to work tonight, so no traveling until tomorrow, but we don't have too far to go. I wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving... |
| Jumpin June-bugs, fifteen days already? I'd like to say it's because there hasn't been anything going on, but in truth, it's just the opposite, so much happening and very little time. What's the last fifteen days looked like? We attended The Circus of the Heart at the Minnesota Zoo. It was a good time, but kind of a long drive and by the time we returned, the pickup was running terrible. It started missing and back firing when we got home. I'm thinking it's a bad plug, but it also needs tires, exhaust work, and possibly the brakes. We have needed a second vehicle, so we set about talking to the credit union and looking at used vehicles. We purchased a good deal and are happy with our new car. We still have the truck and I'm hoping to get a chance o see what's wrong and what it will take to fix it; we are hoping to repair and keep it, but who knows until I find the time to check it over. We had another court hearing a few weeks back, just the same old stuff, but we are getting closer to the adoption date. Of course, the court hearings create enough problems since they are quite a distance away and one needs arrangements made for school and stuff. Then, after court, we stopped and ate. The food was good, the place was clean, but I ended up sick by the following day. I had to see the dentist to get a filling repaired and was feeling fine when we left. The girls had therapy so we dropped them off, then me to my appointment. About half way through the filing I started to feel horrible. By the time I was done, the rest of the family was there to pick me up. We took the girls to school and headed home. I spent the next few days pretty much in bed or on the couch feeling like the end had come Just when I was about to give in and go see a doctor, I started feeling better. Of course, just as I started to feel better we had a situation come up with our oldest that took a few days to work out; well at least the worst of it, I'm sure there will be more in the days to come. I also started getting sick again and spent another day back in bed, but it passed quickly and by the following day I was feeling better. Then, just when it seemed like things would settle down, Mom got sick and we found out she had a heart attack. A few days in the hospital for her and she will be back home soon. There was some blockage, but they got things fixed. We will all be off to see her soon. Also, things planned for the middle of next week got changed to the beginning of the week, so we need to get things ready this weekend. As it sits right now, today was spent getting caught up a bit in here and with some much needed sleep. Tomorrow, so far, sounds pretty quiet and then Friday starts the next round of running. |
| It's that time of the year again, the time when we turn the clocks back and end daylight saving time. I never understood the logic behind this, although in times past, before electricity, it at least made a bit of a difference. However, it may also be why Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked the lantern over. The best logic I've seen behind the idea of setting the clocks an hour early is the one that states, “Only a white man would believe you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.” -Unknown It's just as silly as the name, Daylight Saving Time, like we actually are dumb enough to believe we are saving an hour somehow? I think not, or at least, I hope not. I've also read where this helps to conserve energy, but I don't see how, there's still only a set number of daylight hours, and no matter where you set the clock, when it's dark, you need light. In fact, I remember when I had to be to work by 7:00 am, and as it got later in the year, it was getting lighter until we set the clocks ahead so we had to get up an hour earlier when it was still dark. I also don't like the jet-lag that it creates. I'm sure it's not as bad for everyone, but for some of us, our body clocks are finely honed and changing the time we go to bed and get up just doesn't work. Our body clocks do not accept Daylight Savings Time. It's the same for animals, too. I worked a few years at a dairy plant and we got a lot of milk in every morning. The time change in the spring was terrible for everyone involved in the milking process, since it is unproductive to change the time you milk the cows. Again, it really doesn't accomplish Jack. On the flip side, however, I enjoy when we get to set the clocks back to real time instead of Pretend You Get An Hour Time. It's my body clock again, still out of whack with the time change, but now, it slips right back into the groove when the clocks get set back. This is because my body hasn't adapted to the change, but it's been forced to work with it, resulting in things being just a little bit off for the summer months. This year was the best example of this being off. I knew about the time change date and had even mentioned it to my daughters, asking them to help me remember to set the clocks back before going to bed. They forgot to remind me and I forgot to remember... or something like that. Either way, we did not reset the clocks. Since we had Sunday plans, we had to be up by five-thirty to get ready. I did remember to set the alarm, got up at five-thirty with my wife, had a cup of coffee to wake up, then as we started in our second cup we started getting ready, then woke our daughters and, after they were both up and dressed, remembered I had forgotten to change the clocks. We had gotten up an hour earlier than we needed, without even feeling like we got ripped off the hour. Why? Because it was normal to be ripped off the hour. We had been ripped off that hour in the spring when we set our clocks ahead. Losing that hour was just the norm of what Daylight Savings Time feels like to me each and every day. I got back into my groove Sunday night/Monday morning instead. We changed the clocks before we left, so we were back on real time but the full groove didn't register until I got up with the girls for school on Monday. Anyway, I don't see anything even remotely looking like they will scrap this silly notion of screwing with the clocks, so I'll enjoy the real time as long as I can an then in the spring I'll suffer through the pain of cutting that foot off the top, sewing it to the bottom, and then wondering why we have to do this again as I cover up and my feet are still sticking out. |
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