Welcome to
the month of December- a windy and cloudy day outside.
I did my
stretches and ran a mile and a half.
I updated
the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
Sunday 02-
a bit windy but pleasant.
I did my
stretches.
I went
over to Linda H’s to pick up a barbecue she doesn’t want anymore. It’s kinda
weather-beaten but I’ll see if I can get it working again. I also did some work
on her MacBook.
I watched
“Castle”
Monday 03-
windy with clouds.
I did my
stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched
the heavy bag.
Guy with a
gray truck was on the side of the road by the house west of me. He was calling
a dog when I saw him. When the dog wouldn’t come to him he drove away really
fast. He threw out a coffee maker onto the road; pissed me off!
The lady
who lives in that house took the dog in when he left and was trying to call its
owner from the numbers on tags. He came back an hour later and went to a
house a half mile off of winters, and that's when I got the pics.
Something
ain't right in the head with this guy and I really don't want to get involved
if ya know what I mean... Just knowing where he lives is good enough to keep an
eye on him.
I went for
my evening walk.
I did my
stretches and did a night run.
I took a
picture of the Moon rising and it looked mighty cool!
Tuesday 04-
cooler and cloudy all day.
I did my
stretches, yoga, lifted dumbbells, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs on each
wrist, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched the heavy bag.
UPS
delivered my ChromeBook today. When I received the package it was bent at one
side and I thought it was damaged. It turns out Amazon put it in a large box
and the box with the ChromeBook was okay. I spent most of my time getting used
to it and discovering what it can do and what it can’t. It can’t do Skype so
I’m looking for a work around for it until Skype gets it together. The browser
works fine except it loses cache if you leave to visit another page for too
long; Gmail will reload if left for 5min or so. I think this is to
conserve RAM..
I have Google Voice and was able to make calls to landlines no problem.
I have Google Voice and was able to make calls to landlines no problem.
I watched
Star Trek “Voyager” on Amazon Prime to see how it worked on Chrome, it played
okay, but I should had tried something more recent that had widescreen..
I'm going to watch to see how Hulu performs.
So far it's been a good experience.
When you get your's plug it in first because it come with an uncharged battery (says that in Quickstart Guide) and when you hit start nothing happens. You will be surprised how fast it charges up!
I'm going to watch to see how Hulu performs.
So far it's been a good experience.
When you get your's plug it in first because it come with an uncharged battery (says that in Quickstart Guide) and when you hit start nothing happens. You will be surprised how fast it charges up!
I went for
my evening walk.
I watched
Star Trek “Voyager” on Amazon Prime to see how it worked on Chrome.
I did my
stretches, lifted dumbbells, and when for a night run.
Wednesday 05-
an alright day with lots of clouds.
I did my
stretches.
I went to
Yucca Valley to take care of some stuff I needed to get done at the bank. I
stopped off to get a burger and coffee at Jack in the Box and then went to
WalMart to get a few items. I dropped a few coins to the Salvation Army Bell
Ringer and some more to the guitar player who hangs out there.
I was
going to go to Home Depot to get a few things, but this long Marine convoy
turned into the parking lot and I felt it’d be too crowded and decided not to
go.
Thursday 06-
clear and sunny day.
I did my
stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched
the heavy bag.
Bob Fenger
called to chat for a long spell about all kinda stuff. He rebuilds pianos and
leaves them around town for people to play. I plan on visiting him someday. He
comes from Torrance just like me.
I went
over to help Roger with a stuck garage door and did my laundry while I was
there. We sat around and jawed at each other and when we had all the answers to
the world’s problems my clothes were dry and I went home.
Several
people called me and then Linda called telling me to come on over to watch Ridley
Scott's film “Prometheus” with
her; how could I resist. I thought it was great.
I did my stretches and went for a night run.
Friday 07-
very nice and clear day!
I did my
stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched
the heavy bag.
I went to
Dhamma Dena to work on their computers for a spell and helped someone set up an
email account which they quickly forgot their user name, wrote down the
password though. So when I had her go login again she couldn’t… I'll help her set
up another new account some other day. Then I went to Linda H’s house to put new RAM
into her laptop.
It was
dark when I got home and didn’t go for my evening walk but fed the doves and
quail.
I did my
stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a night run.
Saturday 08-
a very nice day!
I did my
stretches and went for a short walk around the neighborhood.
I was
doing work around the house inside and out getting things straightened up.
Sherry
dropped by to chat and brought me some candy bars!
Linda H.
called to ask if I wanted to go for a hike in the secret canyon and I said I
did. Linda has this thing about picking up trash when we hike and it ends up
being put into my backpack to be hauled out; I really don’t mind.
I watched
an episode of “Elementary”.
Sunday 09-
another nice day with temps into the mid 60s.
I did my
stretches and went for a short walk.
I tried to
update the Copper Mountain Mesa Website, but where I have it registered didn’t
do an auto-renewal and the site was down. I got in touch with them and said I
wasn’t a happy camper. They put my website back up later in the evening and I’ll
do the update tomorrow.
I mostly
messed around the house cleaning this and putting away that.
I jumped
on my scooter at 7pm and went to my mailbox on Lear Ave to pick up whatever
mail was there. It was a cold and dark ride; gets dark around 4:30pm now.
Monday 10- the weather was a bit nippy later in the evening.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted dumbbells, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched the heavy bag.
I had to wait around the house for UPS to deliver my new Celestron 15x70 SkyMaster Binoculars. Around about 2pm UPS drove up and I ran out to the truck and got the package in my little greedy hands; wonderful! I took them out, adjusted them, and had a look-see. Not as heavy as my other larger Celestron SkyMaster 20x80, but a lot nicer holding in your hands for longer periods and not tiring your arms.
I went for my evening walk.
I went to the Neighborhood Watch meeting at the community center, where I am the treasurer. We are still getting our bylaws together and I believe we accomplished that tonight at the very end of the meeting. We had a new member get up to tell us all about chemtrails and the new world order in the allotted 5 minutes. Peggy gave a talk and handed out pamphlets on the laws concerning off road vehicles. She also told us of some off roaders burning tires out in the desert where she lives. I as treasurer gave everyone the website to where they can get NHW signs and said I wasn’t going to be the go between of getting them. I also told them about my neighbor who had past away in 2009 and how I only found out about it last week. His place got broken into and things stolen.
Linda H and I went to her house after the meeting so I could help set up her new WIFI and iTouch. We watched some Masterpiece Theater movie about English elite and their servants.
Once back home I watched episode 3 of “Voyager” to get the English elite out of my system.
Tuesday 11- a really nice day outside!
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs on my wrists, core trainer, and beat on the heavy bag for 7 minutes (I usually do 5).
I got restless and called Bob Fenger to see if he was home and if I could come over; he said okay. I rode the scooter the ten miles over to his house which I had to search for on Google Maps so I wouldn’t get lost. His house is fantastic! It is kinda like walking through a maze of neatly sorted "junk" which is to be used as building materials and art projects, with rooms here and there all under construction with an artist’s wild mind and innovations that would please any steampunk fan; he has a water distillery! His two dogs and cat were very polite and wandered about the openness of the house; by openness I mean you could be walking across dirt floor to reach the kitchen from the living room. We sat and jawed for a long spell in his kinda greenhouse room where an avocado tree and other fruit producing plants grow. He also showed me his studio where a couple of pianos sit waiting for the heavy touch of his magical fingers to move a mechanical lever causing a hammer to hit a wire to produce a musical vibration. Bob fixes pianos donated to him and the he places them around towns to be played by passers by. I really enjoyed my visit!
I did some work around the house and called my brother when I got back home.
I did my stretches and went for a night run.
I am writing this in Google Docs on my Google ARM ChromeBook.
Wednesday 12- colder and overcast all day long.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted dumbbells, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs on each wrist, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched the heavy bag.
I drove to my mailbox and then to Kelly’s to drop off some of her mail that came to mine. I saw her dog Stitchy who had recently got a haircut and he looks like a whole different dog. All her critters were glad to see me.
I had to stick around my house today because Kelly is having an MRI at 12pm and need to be around just in case there are any complications (like last time) she will give me a call so I can help her.
I cut a bunch of wood to use in the woodstove; looks like a cold front is moving in.
Thursday 13- cloudy with lots of rain.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.
It was raining and I couldn’t go anywhere anyways because I had to wait around for FedEx to deliver my new iPod Touch.
I put on the rainjacket that Linda H gave me and washed the Cougar in the rain. I then swept and cleaned my front porch.
FedEx arrived around 2pm and I stood in the rain chatting with the delivery guy who I haven’t seen in a good many months; we got caught up with each other’s goings on.
It rained all day and night and I didn’t get to watch the Geminid Meteor Shower. I kept going outside when I heard the rain stop, only to see heavy clouds and no stars. I did this until sometime after 3am when I finally decided it was a lost cause and went to bed. But in between checking the skies I got caught up with my astronomy reading and watched the newest episode of “Elementary”; I really like this show. I’ve had my 32” TV for a month now and haven’t watched anything on it. I guess I prefer to watch stuff on my computer.
Friday 14- cloudy skies and wind.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs on my wrists, core trainer, and beat on the heavy bag for 10 minutes this time! (I usually do 5).
The new ChromeBook had two crashes since I got it. It also did a weird thing when I was writing my journal in Google Docs; the tab I was writing in just hung and I wasn’t able to recover it. Thankfully Docs does an auto save every few seconds and I only lost a few words I was writing at the time. There is still no Skype for it and I have to switch laptops to yap at Kelly. Otherwise the experience working on the ChromeBook has been just fine. Google keeps updating the OS and the last one was last night and it seems to be more responsive and not caching and reloading the tabs so much.
The winds started blowing hard just after I finished my exercises so I worked around inside house most of the day. I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I went for my evening walk, but did a short walk because of the blowing wind and cold.
I watched episodes three and four of “Voyager”.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and since the wind died down I went for a night run. The sky is still cloudy with no stars.
I practiced my guitar.
Saturday 15- a nicer day than yesterday, but with a lot of wind.
I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.
I did some cleaning around the house and yapped with family and friends on the phone for a long spell.
Peggy Lee called to tell me our special meeting with the ORV guy will be on Monday at 6pm. Then we went on to have a long talk about everything and anything.
I went for my evening walk.
I watched episode 5 of “Voyager”.
Sunday 16- a very sunny day and my batteries got all charged up by the Sun!
I did my stretches and ran a mile and a half.
I called and yapped with family and friends that I didn’t get around to yesterday. I always try to touch base with everyone at least once every two months and I fell a little behind lately. Maybe I should try writing them letters too... just a thought.
I was almost out the door on my way to Dhamma Dena to work on their computer when Linda H called to ask if I wanted to have lunch at her house; that sounded good to me! We had lasagna with a side of steamed vegetable which was mighty yummy. She also found a nice shirt for me at the thrift store in JT that fit.
I got to Dhamma Dena around 4pm. Now that I have the Admin password I updated the firewall that kept nagging to be. The Norton antivirus came up with errors everytime I tried to open it, but the system reports that virus protection is current. I will contact the lady responsible for maintaining their computer and ask her if I can remove Norton from the system and use another program.
My doves and quail were waiting for me when I arrived home.
Monday 17- nice and sunny but a little nippy. I could see the clouds trying to come up over the ridge and flow into Morongo Valley.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, yoga, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched on the heavy bag.
Chris J stopped by with my USDA groceries. He said 84 folks showed up for the distribution.
I drove the Cougar down to Stater Bros in 29 Palms to get some supplies. It turned out to be $105 when I got done! It didn’t seem to me that I bought $100 worth of stuff, but I did. I even had to go back in the store again to buy bread I forgotten to get the first time.
I went for my evening walk and was halfway through when I heard noise down at Biker Ron’s old house, he’s the one who passed away in 2009, so I ran back to my house and jumped in the Cougar with my camera. I started taking pictures when I drove up and one guy said “Hey there’s someone taking pictures of us”. He turned out to be with the guy who came up here with Biker Ron’s mother last week, and everything was cool.
Linda H came by with a chair she didn’t need and dropped it off. We carried it to my patio until I can decided where to put it.
Our community had our first ORV meeting to address the off road vehicles that are ruining our precious desert. Philip M. Klasky and Victoria Fuller from the ORV Watch organization came and gave a very informative presentation. We are not against ORV, but we are against those who ruin our beautiful desert and tread upon our lands unlawfully. The meeting lasted for an hour and a half and was well attended with around twenty folks showing up. Everyone got to have their say; one woman told about being harassed by ORVers after she called Code Enforcement to asked them not to ride on her property and in the wash where turtles lay their eggs. Her home was visited late in the night with ORV circling her property. I think it is very un-American to try to silence somebody who is trying to uphold the law.
Peggy was the one who organized the meeting has assumed the leadership position for now. We decided that we will communicate online and setup our goals we want to achieve and tentatively have a meeting along with the Neighborhood Watch on the second Monday in January at 6pm. It was a very successful meeting.
Tuesday 18- windy, cold and raining.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag. Linda H came by with a table that I can use next to my bed instead of the little folding table I have there now. It is a little too big, but I can move my heater over five inches and it should be okay. Until I move the heater it is a little cramped in my room.
There’s not much I can do outside except get wood for the stove, feed the doves and quail, and then stay inside.
A nice lady of 87 years old called from Yucca Valley asking my help with her VCR or computer (she wasn’t very clear which one), she had a DVD from her son-in law about her daughter who recently passed away. She said she used to read my column in the Hi Desert Star faithfully every week until I stopped writing it a few years ago. I told her that I wouldn't be able to come down until after the holidays, but she might find someone who might help at the Yucca Valley community center right around the block from her house. I told her I would keep in contact with her to make sure she got somebody to help her watch it.
Wednesday 19- very cold but sunny. It is officially winter; my cement pond froze.
When my cement pond freezes I can officially call this Winter at my home!
It's winter!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles today with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag for ten minutes.
I had to cover all my plants because the temps are going to be in the 20s at night for the next few days.
I went for my evening walk, but a short one because of the cold wind.
The wind was blowing pretty hard and I decided now to go for a night run.
I watched episodes 6 and 7 of “Voyager”.
Thursday 20- very nice and sunny with no wind, but still cold.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up the hill with five pound weights, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag for ten minutes.
UPS brought tin of cookies and candy that was sent by my very good friend Carolyn S. The cookies didn't make it into the night :)
I went for an evening walk.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a night run.
Friday 21- the world didn’t end and the weather was just fine outside!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles today with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes. It seems like ten minutes is starting to be the norm on the heavybag.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter. I started a Neighborhood Watch section on the website.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a strange face of a person.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a walk with my backpack. I trying something new by doing dumbbells before my evening walks and night runs.
I studied “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies” and finished chapter 3. I read and got caught up on my astronomy.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a night run. There was a large ice ring around the Moon; meaning there is a lot of moisture in the atmosphere and we could get rain later in the week.
I practiced my guitar.
I am trying to get things back to normal with my studies and guitar, and seeing that this is the winter solstice it seemed like a good time to start again.
I watched episode 8 of “Voyager”.
Saturday 22- sunny and nice.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran one and a half miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I yapped with Kelly for a spell. She is doing fine but will have to wait until sometime in February for her surgery.
Linda called to come over to change a couple of electrical wall switches. Simi was there when I arrived. It was good to see him, but I wish he’d start wearing shoes instead of sandals during the winter. Linda gave him some bean soup she had made before he left. I installed the switches and we went on an evening walk together. She treated me to some of that bean soup for dinner. She had a movie called “The Ides of March” (2011). It was supposed to be an action packed movie it said on the cover, but kinda dragged here and there; it did get better at the end.
When I got back home I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a hideous face. I also started reading chapter 4 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I practiced my guitar and tried to remember a song I had written but had forgotten many years ago.
Sunday 23- another fine day!
My day to rest up; I did my stretches.
I drove my scooter to both mailboxes; an eighteen mile trip there and back.
I called a few folks and a few called me.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: me on my scooter riding to my mailbox.
Monday 24- getting a little overcast and cold.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer.
I called a few family and friends most of the day. Jimmy called telling me he and his family are coming out to the desert on Thursday and for me to drop by; I will :)
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I studied and finished chapter 4 “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
Tuesday 25- it was so overcast that you could hardly make out the Sun as it tried to shine through the thick layers of moisture settling over our area; didn’t look good for the Conjunction tonight.
I did my stretches. Because I got up late and had to get ready for a party at Piper Cort’s, I didn’t have time to do any exercises.
My long time friend Larry Carlock called to wish me a Merry Christmas, which I thought was mighty nice.
I finally got all my music equipment; two guitars, mic and stand, and an amplifier into the Cougar and set off for Piper’s house around 2pm.
I walked into the house where Joey was tending a roaring fire going in the fireplace, Michael Bays and Robert Fenger were seated at the dining room table, and Piper was ardently working at cooking our Christmas dinner. Joey and I took turns strumming his guitar he had laying about on the sofa. Piper called out, “Dinners Ready, Help Yourselves”, and we all got plates and filled them up with roast beef, mashed potatoes, candied yams, and many other fine fare. We all got in discussions of this and that and conspiracy theories galore; which was fine with me because I love to listen to others view besides my own. I kept going outside to check on the Moon and Jupiter everytime Robert went out for a smoke, but it was ever so cloudy we could only get glimpses of them. We all traded gifts; I took pictures of Piper opening presents from her daughters. We had coffee and sat around jawing for a long spell until we all decided it was time to head on home after such a wonderful meal.
I got home around eight and was able to finally take a picture of the Conjunction!
I watched episode 10 of “Voyager”.
Wednesday 26- cold, cloudy, and breezy!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: Boats sailing.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I practiced my guitar.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I began studying chapter 5 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
Thursday 27- a little warmer, but a few clouds.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up the hill and down carrying 5 lbs in each hand, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
Jimmy and Clarice came up for the weekend and are staying over at Stoney’s. Scott and Sandy showed up too. They brought peanut butter chocolate balls! We shot at some clays with shotguns for a spell until it started getting dark. I got some really nice pics of Crepuscular Rays through clouds before I left.
I got home in time to do my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbells and, went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a woman standing.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I practiced my guitar.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I ended chapter 5 and began studying chapter 6 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I practiced my guitar.
I watched episode 10 of “Voyager”.
Friday 28- a nice and sunny day and not that cold.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I went to visit Jimmy and Clarice. They were already outside shooting clays and I joined them for a short spell before I had to leave for a lunch date.
Again, I got home in time to do my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbells and, went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a woman’s face I think.
I finished chapter 6 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I practiced my guitar.
I watched “2010” and then episodes 11 and 12 of “Voyager”.
Saturday 29- a really nice day outside.
I did my stretches. My body has been telling me the last few days to ease off on all the exercising I’ve been doing. So I’m going to take a few days off and then do light exercises for a while.
I heard shotgun blasts and I knew that Jimmy and Clarice were outside shooting at clays again. I jumped on my scooter and arrived just as they had finished and starting to pack it all up and head on home. I helped them get it all squared away in their SUV. We all hugged and said our goodbyes. It was really nice to see the two of them again.
I got back home and cut up a bunch of firewood for the stove; looks to be mighty cold tonight and the next few nights in the foreseeable future.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I also messed around on FaceBook for a long spell.
I went for a short evening walk.
I watched a new episode of “Fringe”.
Sunday 30- cloudy but not that bad of a day.
I did my stretches.
I drove to Stater Bros in Twentynine Palms to pick up a few items like comfort food: Entenmann's Classic Buttermilk Doughnuts (So yummy that they even have their own FaceBook page).
On my way back home I dropped off a package for Kelly that was sent to my mailbox by mistake.
I called family and friends just to let them know I’m still corporeal. It was time for me to just stay inside and stay warm and cozy as the flames heated the house while I watched a Movie “The Next Three Days” (2010) starring Russell Crowe. It was really suspenseful and I found myself gripping onto my pillow. To calm myself down I then watched episode 8 of “Alley McBeal”, and episode 13 of “Voyager”.
Monday 31- a very nice but cold day indeed for New Year’s Eve!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes. Like I said I’m going to take it easy for a while and cut down a little on how much I exercise.
I spent much of the day on the phone talking with my Brother and other folks yapping about the New Year coming up; probably do the same tomorrow.
I went on a short evening walk.
I spent a lot of time on FaceBook yammering with my friends here in the USA and also in faraway places. It was a lot of fun as we all celebrated together the New Year as it came in halfway around the globe: India, Copenhagen, Philippines, Asia, Middle East, the whole dang world! It always amazes me how much we are alike in many ways, how much we have in common. The world has a new society now, a new nation that has arisen not in the physical sense, but as electronic pulses traveling at the speed of light that knows no barriers, has no borders, and grows exponentially for the betterment of humankind; this is the new world of Social Networks, born from the Internet, and we are its citizen.
It was time for me to go for a night run and bring in the New Year! I been doing this for a few years now. Just before midnight I start my run up the hill in front of my house and by the time I get to the top the New Year begins. My friend Vicki wanted me to video my run and post it on FB. I told her it’d be dark, but others want me to do it too. Here’s my run into 2013:
Monday 10- the weather was a bit nippy later in the evening.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted dumbbells, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched the heavy bag.
I had to wait around the house for UPS to deliver my new Celestron 15x70 SkyMaster Binoculars. Around about 2pm UPS drove up and I ran out to the truck and got the package in my little greedy hands; wonderful! I took them out, adjusted them, and had a look-see. Not as heavy as my other larger Celestron SkyMaster 20x80, but a lot nicer holding in your hands for longer periods and not tiring your arms.
I went for my evening walk.
I went to the Neighborhood Watch meeting at the community center, where I am the treasurer. We are still getting our bylaws together and I believe we accomplished that tonight at the very end of the meeting. We had a new member get up to tell us all about chemtrails and the new world order in the allotted 5 minutes. Peggy gave a talk and handed out pamphlets on the laws concerning off road vehicles. She also told us of some off roaders burning tires out in the desert where she lives. I as treasurer gave everyone the website to where they can get NHW signs and said I wasn’t going to be the go between of getting them. I also told them about my neighbor who had past away in 2009 and how I only found out about it last week. His place got broken into and things stolen.
Linda H and I went to her house after the meeting so I could help set up her new WIFI and iTouch. We watched some Masterpiece Theater movie about English elite and their servants.
Once back home I watched episode 3 of “Voyager” to get the English elite out of my system.
Tuesday 11- a really nice day outside!
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs on my wrists, core trainer, and beat on the heavy bag for 7 minutes (I usually do 5).
I got restless and called Bob Fenger to see if he was home and if I could come over; he said okay. I rode the scooter the ten miles over to his house which I had to search for on Google Maps so I wouldn’t get lost. His house is fantastic! It is kinda like walking through a maze of neatly sorted "junk" which is to be used as building materials and art projects, with rooms here and there all under construction with an artist’s wild mind and innovations that would please any steampunk fan; he has a water distillery! His two dogs and cat were very polite and wandered about the openness of the house; by openness I mean you could be walking across dirt floor to reach the kitchen from the living room. We sat and jawed for a long spell in his kinda greenhouse room where an avocado tree and other fruit producing plants grow. He also showed me his studio where a couple of pianos sit waiting for the heavy touch of his magical fingers to move a mechanical lever causing a hammer to hit a wire to produce a musical vibration. Bob fixes pianos donated to him and the he places them around towns to be played by passers by. I really enjoyed my visit!
I did some work around the house and called my brother when I got back home.
I did my stretches and went for a night run.
I am writing this in Google Docs on my Google ARM ChromeBook.
Wednesday 12- colder and overcast all day long.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted dumbbells, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs on each wrist, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched the heavy bag.
I drove to my mailbox and then to Kelly’s to drop off some of her mail that came to mine. I saw her dog Stitchy who had recently got a haircut and he looks like a whole different dog. All her critters were glad to see me.
I had to stick around my house today because Kelly is having an MRI at 12pm and need to be around just in case there are any complications (like last time) she will give me a call so I can help her.
I cut a bunch of wood to use in the woodstove; looks like a cold front is moving in.
Thursday 13- cloudy with lots of rain.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag.
It was raining and I couldn’t go anywhere anyways because I had to wait around for FedEx to deliver my new iPod Touch.
I put on the rainjacket that Linda H gave me and washed the Cougar in the rain. I then swept and cleaned my front porch.
FedEx arrived around 2pm and I stood in the rain chatting with the delivery guy who I haven’t seen in a good many months; we got caught up with each other’s goings on.
It rained all day and night and I didn’t get to watch the Geminid Meteor Shower. I kept going outside when I heard the rain stop, only to see heavy clouds and no stars. I did this until sometime after 3am when I finally decided it was a lost cause and went to bed. But in between checking the skies I got caught up with my astronomy reading and watched the newest episode of “Elementary”; I really like this show. I’ve had my 32” TV for a month now and haven’t watched anything on it. I guess I prefer to watch stuff on my computer.
Friday 14- cloudy skies and wind.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs on my wrists, core trainer, and beat on the heavy bag for 10 minutes this time! (I usually do 5).
The new ChromeBook had two crashes since I got it. It also did a weird thing when I was writing my journal in Google Docs; the tab I was writing in just hung and I wasn’t able to recover it. Thankfully Docs does an auto save every few seconds and I only lost a few words I was writing at the time. There is still no Skype for it and I have to switch laptops to yap at Kelly. Otherwise the experience working on the ChromeBook has been just fine. Google keeps updating the OS and the last one was last night and it seems to be more responsive and not caching and reloading the tabs so much.
The winds started blowing hard just after I finished my exercises so I worked around inside house most of the day. I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I went for my evening walk, but did a short walk because of the blowing wind and cold.
I watched episodes three and four of “Voyager”.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and since the wind died down I went for a night run. The sky is still cloudy with no stars.
I practiced my guitar.
Saturday 15- a nicer day than yesterday, but with a lot of wind.
I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.
I did some cleaning around the house and yapped with family and friends on the phone for a long spell.
Peggy Lee called to tell me our special meeting with the ORV guy will be on Monday at 6pm. Then we went on to have a long talk about everything and anything.
I went for my evening walk.
I watched episode 5 of “Voyager”.
Sunday 16- a very sunny day and my batteries got all charged up by the Sun!
I did my stretches and ran a mile and a half.
I called and yapped with family and friends that I didn’t get around to yesterday. I always try to touch base with everyone at least once every two months and I fell a little behind lately. Maybe I should try writing them letters too... just a thought.
I was almost out the door on my way to Dhamma Dena to work on their computer when Linda H called to ask if I wanted to have lunch at her house; that sounded good to me! We had lasagna with a side of steamed vegetable which was mighty yummy. She also found a nice shirt for me at the thrift store in JT that fit.
I got to Dhamma Dena around 4pm. Now that I have the Admin password I updated the firewall that kept nagging to be. The Norton antivirus came up with errors everytime I tried to open it, but the system reports that virus protection is current. I will contact the lady responsible for maintaining their computer and ask her if I can remove Norton from the system and use another program.
My doves and quail were waiting for me when I arrived home.
Monday 17- nice and sunny but a little nippy. I could see the clouds trying to come up over the ridge and flow into Morongo Valley.I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, yoga, core trainer, lifted weights, and punched on the heavy bag.
Chris J stopped by with my USDA groceries. He said 84 folks showed up for the distribution.
I drove the Cougar down to Stater Bros in 29 Palms to get some supplies. It turned out to be $105 when I got done! It didn’t seem to me that I bought $100 worth of stuff, but I did. I even had to go back in the store again to buy bread I forgotten to get the first time.
I went for my evening walk and was halfway through when I heard noise down at Biker Ron’s old house, he’s the one who passed away in 2009, so I ran back to my house and jumped in the Cougar with my camera. I started taking pictures when I drove up and one guy said “Hey there’s someone taking pictures of us”. He turned out to be with the guy who came up here with Biker Ron’s mother last week, and everything was cool.
Linda H came by with a chair she didn’t need and dropped it off. We carried it to my patio until I can decided where to put it.
Our community had our first ORV meeting to address the off road vehicles that are ruining our precious desert. Philip M. Klasky and Victoria Fuller from the ORV Watch organization came and gave a very informative presentation. We are not against ORV, but we are against those who ruin our beautiful desert and tread upon our lands unlawfully. The meeting lasted for an hour and a half and was well attended with around twenty folks showing up. Everyone got to have their say; one woman told about being harassed by ORVers after she called Code Enforcement to asked them not to ride on her property and in the wash where turtles lay their eggs. Her home was visited late in the night with ORV circling her property. I think it is very un-American to try to silence somebody who is trying to uphold the law.
Peggy was the one who organized the meeting has assumed the leadership position for now. We decided that we will communicate online and setup our goals we want to achieve and tentatively have a meeting along with the Neighborhood Watch on the second Monday in January at 6pm. It was a very successful meeting.
Tuesday 18- windy, cold and raining.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag. Linda H came by with a table that I can use next to my bed instead of the little folding table I have there now. It is a little too big, but I can move my heater over five inches and it should be okay. Until I move the heater it is a little cramped in my room.
There’s not much I can do outside except get wood for the stove, feed the doves and quail, and then stay inside.
A nice lady of 87 years old called from Yucca Valley asking my help with her VCR or computer (she wasn’t very clear which one), she had a DVD from her son-in law about her daughter who recently passed away. She said she used to read my column in the Hi Desert Star faithfully every week until I stopped writing it a few years ago. I told her that I wouldn't be able to come down until after the holidays, but she might find someone who might help at the Yucca Valley community center right around the block from her house. I told her I would keep in contact with her to make sure she got somebody to help her watch it.
Wednesday 19- very cold but sunny. It is officially winter; my cement pond froze.
When my cement pond freezes I can officially call this Winter at my home!It's winter!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles today with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag for ten minutes.
I had to cover all my plants because the temps are going to be in the 20s at night for the next few days.
I went for my evening walk, but a short one because of the cold wind.
The wind was blowing pretty hard and I decided now to go for a night run.
I watched episodes 6 and 7 of “Voyager”.
Thursday 20- very nice and sunny with no wind, but still cold.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up the hill with five pound weights, core trainer, and punched the heavy bag for ten minutes.
UPS brought tin of cookies and candy that was sent by my very good friend Carolyn S. The cookies didn't make it into the night :)
I went for an evening walk.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a night run.
Friday 21- the world didn’t end and the weather was just fine outside!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles today with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes. It seems like ten minutes is starting to be the norm on the heavybag.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter. I started a Neighborhood Watch section on the website.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a strange face of a person.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a walk with my backpack. I trying something new by doing dumbbells before my evening walks and night runs.
I studied “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies” and finished chapter 3. I read and got caught up on my astronomy.
I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a night run. There was a large ice ring around the Moon; meaning there is a lot of moisture in the atmosphere and we could get rain later in the week.
I practiced my guitar.
I am trying to get things back to normal with my studies and guitar, and seeing that this is the winter solstice it seemed like a good time to start again.
I watched episode 8 of “Voyager”.
Saturday 22- sunny and nice.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran one and a half miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I yapped with Kelly for a spell. She is doing fine but will have to wait until sometime in February for her surgery.
Linda called to come over to change a couple of electrical wall switches. Simi was there when I arrived. It was good to see him, but I wish he’d start wearing shoes instead of sandals during the winter. Linda gave him some bean soup she had made before he left. I installed the switches and we went on an evening walk together. She treated me to some of that bean soup for dinner. She had a movie called “The Ides of March” (2011). It was supposed to be an action packed movie it said on the cover, but kinda dragged here and there; it did get better at the end.
When I got back home I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a hideous face. I also started reading chapter 4 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I practiced my guitar and tried to remember a song I had written but had forgotten many years ago.
My day to rest up; I did my stretches.
I drove my scooter to both mailboxes; an eighteen mile trip there and back.
I called a few folks and a few called me.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: me on my scooter riding to my mailbox.
Monday 24- getting a little overcast and cold.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer.
I called a few family and friends most of the day. Jimmy called telling me he and his family are coming out to the desert on Thursday and for me to drop by; I will :)
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I studied and finished chapter 4 “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
Tuesday 25- it was so overcast that you could hardly make out the Sun as it tried to shine through the thick layers of moisture settling over our area; didn’t look good for the Conjunction tonight.I did my stretches. Because I got up late and had to get ready for a party at Piper Cort’s, I didn’t have time to do any exercises.
My long time friend Larry Carlock called to wish me a Merry Christmas, which I thought was mighty nice.
I finally got all my music equipment; two guitars, mic and stand, and an amplifier into the Cougar and set off for Piper’s house around 2pm.
I walked into the house where Joey was tending a roaring fire going in the fireplace, Michael Bays and Robert Fenger were seated at the dining room table, and Piper was ardently working at cooking our Christmas dinner. Joey and I took turns strumming his guitar he had laying about on the sofa. Piper called out, “Dinners Ready, Help Yourselves”, and we all got plates and filled them up with roast beef, mashed potatoes, candied yams, and many other fine fare. We all got in discussions of this and that and conspiracy theories galore; which was fine with me because I love to listen to others view besides my own. I kept going outside to check on the Moon and Jupiter everytime Robert went out for a smoke, but it was ever so cloudy we could only get glimpses of them. We all traded gifts; I took pictures of Piper opening presents from her daughters. We had coffee and sat around jawing for a long spell until we all decided it was time to head on home after such a wonderful meal.
I got home around eight and was able to finally take a picture of the Conjunction!I watched episode 10 of “Voyager”.
Wednesday 26- cold, cloudy, and breezy!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: Boats sailing.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I practiced my guitar.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I began studying chapter 5 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
Thursday 27- a little warmer, but a few clouds.I did my stretches, yoga, ran up the hill and down carrying 5 lbs in each hand, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
Jimmy and Clarice came up for the weekend and are staying over at Stoney’s. Scott and Sandy showed up too. They brought peanut butter chocolate balls! We shot at some clays with shotguns for a spell until it started getting dark. I got some really nice pics of Crepuscular Rays through clouds before I left.
I got home in time to do my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbells and, went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a woman standing.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I practiced my guitar.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I ended chapter 5 and began studying chapter 6 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I practiced my guitar.
I watched episode 10 of “Voyager”.
Friday 28- a nice and sunny day and not that cold.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran three miles with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for ten minutes.
I went to visit Jimmy and Clarice. They were already outside shooting clays and I joined them for a short spell before I had to leave for a lunch date.
Again, I got home in time to do my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbells and, went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a woman’s face I think.
I finished chapter 6 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I practiced my guitar.
I watched “2010” and then episodes 11 and 12 of “Voyager”.
Saturday 29- a really nice day outside.
I did my stretches. My body has been telling me the last few days to ease off on all the exercising I’ve been doing. So I’m going to take a few days off and then do light exercises for a while.
I heard shotgun blasts and I knew that Jimmy and Clarice were outside shooting at clays again. I jumped on my scooter and arrived just as they had finished and starting to pack it all up and head on home. I helped them get it all squared away in their SUV. We all hugged and said our goodbyes. It was really nice to see the two of them again.
I got back home and cut up a bunch of firewood for the stove; looks to be mighty cold tonight and the next few nights in the foreseeable future.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I also messed around on FaceBook for a long spell.
I went for a short evening walk.
I watched a new episode of “Fringe”.
Sunday 30- cloudy but not that bad of a day.
I did my stretches.
I drove to Stater Bros in Twentynine Palms to pick up a few items like comfort food: Entenmann's Classic Buttermilk Doughnuts (So yummy that they even have their own FaceBook page).
On my way back home I dropped off a package for Kelly that was sent to my mailbox by mistake.
I called family and friends just to let them know I’m still corporeal. It was time for me to just stay inside and stay warm and cozy as the flames heated the house while I watched a Movie “The Next Three Days” (2010) starring Russell Crowe. It was really suspenseful and I found myself gripping onto my pillow. To calm myself down I then watched episode 8 of “Alley McBeal”, and episode 13 of “Voyager”.
Monday 31- a very nice but cold day indeed for New Year’s Eve!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes. Like I said I’m going to take it easy for a while and cut down a little on how much I exercise.
I spent much of the day on the phone talking with my Brother and other folks yapping about the New Year coming up; probably do the same tomorrow.
I went on a short evening walk.
I spent a lot of time on FaceBook yammering with my friends here in the USA and also in faraway places. It was a lot of fun as we all celebrated together the New Year as it came in halfway around the globe: India, Copenhagen, Philippines, Asia, Middle East, the whole dang world! It always amazes me how much we are alike in many ways, how much we have in common. The world has a new society now, a new nation that has arisen not in the physical sense, but as electronic pulses traveling at the speed of light that knows no barriers, has no borders, and grows exponentially for the betterment of humankind; this is the new world of Social Networks, born from the Internet, and we are its citizen.
It was time for me to go for a night run and bring in the New Year! I been doing this for a few years now. Just before midnight I start my run up the hill in front of my house and by the time I get to the top the New Year begins. My friend Vicki wanted me to video my run and post it on FB. I told her it’d be dark, but others want me to do it too. Here’s my run into 2013:
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