cheerfulmonk.com

One of my favorite sayings for years has been,

Doing the best we can with what we have left.

That was especially true yesterday morning. Andy lost his cellphone, probably in some deep snow, last week. So today he went down to the local Verizon store to order another and have them set the new one up for him. After he left here I went into my study to turn on the computer and saw his Garmin there. Oh, oh! I update it in the evening and then put it on the dining room table for Andy to find the next morning.

Today he was thinking about the cellphone so didn’t notice the Garmin wasn’t there. I tried phoning the Verizon store to tell him, but the person I talked to wasn’t at the store. She was just the switchboard and no one in the store answered. OK. so I got in the car and drove down there, hoping he hadn’t left yet. I saw the Jeep, and he getting in it. I drove up behind him to block him in, stopped the car, got out and gave him the Garmin. Perfect timing! Sometimes things work out.

We do want him to have the Garmin so if something happens we know where he is, and in an acute emergency he can push the SOS button. That’s especially important when it gets below freezing at night.

November 12, 2024

Those days when we couldn’t turn on the fans in the greenhouse and the temperature got up to 130°F, it didn’t faze the tomatoes a bit. They kept thriving. Andy brought these home last Sunday afternoon.

They’re slowing down some now because of the colder weather, but with any luck they will keep producing. We have a propane heater in the greenhouse to keep the temperature at least 50°F

November 11, 2024

gocomics.com/ben

What are your Novembers like?

November 10, 2024

They’re not predicting more snow for a while so Andy will try to go up to the land today.

November 9, 2024

These pictures were taken from inside the house yesterday morning:

Most places down here were closed for the day, so Andy didn’t go up to the land.

November 8, 2024

November 7, 2024

since I decided to learn some Spanish.

I’m still using Duolingo a few minutes a day, mostly learning vocabulary, and I’m still watching Netflix videos with Spanish subtitles. As I said in Learning Language Like a Baby, some of it is sticking without much effort on my part. The main thing is it’s fun and it makes me feel good to honor the commitment. That’s my main reward.

November 6, 2024

When I got up yesterday morning the power was out and this was what I saw from my living room window,

I was thinking about the non-internet things I could work/play with, but the power was only out for an hour so things were mostly back to normal for me. Andy decided to wait until today to try going up to the land. The next storm isn’t expected to come in until tomorrow.

Update: the snow has mostly melted down here.

Andy didn’t go up to the land because a water-main leak blocked the way he usually goes. The detour would have taken an extra hour each way. Never a dull moment.

November 5, 2024

gocomics.com/offthemark

November 4, 2024

Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.
—Michel de Montaigne

He also mentions

…the stubborn curiosity of our nature which delights in worrying about the future as if it had not enough to deal with in the present:

I agree with him. The best preparation for an unknown future is to use today’s problems as a chance to develop our skills. I do seem to be getting better at keeping relaxed and constructive instead of agitated and frustrated.

Stay curious and open to life. No matter what happens keep learning and growing. Find what you love and find a way to share it with others.

Yeah, I’ll stick to that motto. And live it the best I can.

November 3, 2024