November 2015

November 2015

Sunday 01- windy

2732 words written today and total so far.

Monday 02- wind began blowing hard at 11:20am right when I started my morning run with Cassie.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

3101 5833 words written today and total so far.

Tuesday 03- Very windy!

3072 8905 words written today and total so far.

Wednesday 04- I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks.

I fixed the flat on the left back tire of the Cougar

3035 11940 words written today and total so far.

Thursday 05- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

3250 15190 words written today and total so far.

Friday 06- I got up early, took Cassie for a walk, and went to do some shopping at WalMart.

3185 18375 words written today and total so far.

Saturday 07- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

3157 21532 words written today and total so far.

Sunday 08- I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run.

3645 25177 words written today and total so far.

Monday 09- 3061 28238 words written today and total so far.

Tuesday 10- 3374 31610 words written today and total so far.

Wednesday 11- I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks.

3240 34850 words written today and total so far.

Thursday 12- 3070 37920 words written today and total so far.

Friday 13- windy

I did my stretches, lifted 20lbs dumbbells, core trainer and took Cassie for a mile run.

3123 41043 words written today and total so far.

Saturday 14- windy

I did my stretches and ran a mile with Cassie.

Took a nice long walk over to see Jimmy and Clorice at Stoney’s.

3070 44113 words written today and total so far.

Sunday 15- 3305 47418 words written today and total so far.

Monday 16-  2693 50111 words written today and final total!!!!!

Done! And now I can go on to other things as soon as my brain synapses cool down!

I want everyone to know I have been taking Cassie for all her walks, trying to do my exercises here and there, and also played with Cassie; this is the reason I didn’t keep much of a journal these days.

Tuesday 17- not as windy and warming up.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Wednesday 18- very nice and warm day!

I spent the day getting the new tires put on the truck. They sent the wrong size tires.

Thursday 19- another nice day.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Friday 20- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Saturday 21- I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run.

Went to potluck

Sunday 22- a little windy.

I thought I was catching a cold so I spent the day inside the house. Cassie was upset I didn’t take her for her walks.

I took a nap later in the evening and it seems the symptoms of the cold went away.

Monday 23- the wind started blowing hard in the evening hours.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I cut up a whole pile of wood for my wood stove to keep me and Cassie warm at night.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening run with Cassie and did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

Trying again to catch up on my “365 Starry Nights” book that I missed during my week away in Torrance and the sixteen days I spent on the National Novel Writing Month... 16 days over 50,000 words. I had to 30 days to finish it, but why wait.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile run.

Tuesday 24- very windy again.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks.

It was a day where I could have caught up on some stuff I had to do, but ended up doing nothing but finishing my Christmas cards I’m sending out tomorrow.

Wednesday 25- I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went to the post office to pick up a package (a Pebble smartwatch I bought) and to mail off those Christmas cards and one of my books I published to a friend. I then went to the Doctor’s office to get my flu shot, got gas for the truck, and picked up some supplies for me and Cassie; I remembered the donuts, but forgotten the bananas.

Thursday 26- cloudy

I did my stretches, lifted weights, took Cassie for a mile and a half jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I wished everyone Happy ThanksGiving on FaceBook and called a few too.

Me and Cassie had leftover chicken and french fries for dinner; I ate the donuts.

Friday 27- cloudy and cold.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile and a half jog.

I read some astronomy, geology, and vacantly stared at a math book.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with Cassie and did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

Saturday 28- just dang cold.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile and a half jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I spent some time cleaning up the place. Got all the stuff that accumulated on the electric piano I late last year to learn how to play, but ended up becoming a table. I shall put it on my to learn list.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening one mile jog with Cassie and did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

I read some more astronomy.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night jog with Cassie up the hill and back, did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

Sunday 29- 53 to 32 degrees, clear skies and no wind.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, took Cassie for a 1.22 mile jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I swept and mopped, using Pine Sol, the whole dang cabin.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening 1.2 mile jog with Cassie and did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

I just got done with the jog and lifting weights when a red car pulled up and began dumping trash into my dumpster. I confronted him and he said he thought it was the community dumpster because it didn’t have a lock on it; he might be the same guy in a red car that checked out my mailbox a month or so ago. He said he lived up the street; I knew the place, been there a bunch of times when Carolyn Rich owned it, she passed on about 2 years ago and her daughter owns it now. So I told him the dumpster wasn’t a community dumpster and my mailbox doesn’t get any mail. I also said the polite thing of him to do would have been to ask permission first. He seemed like a nice enough person, works for the JT National Park, so I said he could use my dumpster for little things like household garbage.

I got caught up reading my astronomy book, “365 Starry Nights”. I also did some reading of chapter 5 in the geology book.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night jog with Cassie up the hill and back, did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

Monday 30- 58 to 32 degrees.

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, took Cassie for a 1.17 mile jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

***** Stuff I Wrote this Month******

No matter how bad you feel when you wake up in the mornings and look into the bathroom mirror, know that you are loved!

~RD

I am a peaceful person. I remember when there was a kinda sorta band on ORV awhile back. We started to see more critters coming around. There were some foxes that came back to live and tortoises crawling about. It was nice to be able to enjoy the silence of the desert on the weekends again... Like I said I am a peaceful person and I won't be coming to this event because I feel I would become, well let's just say I wouldn't want to lose the tranquility that the desert has bestowed upon me arguing with some folks who want to turn our beautiful desert into a highway to hell. Now I don't mind sharing the desert with these folks, it's a wondrous place. It would be nice of them to see the desert through my eyes, to learn to respect it as I have and use it not as a destination to destroy but as a place they would want to come back to, a place they could call their home.

Life drifts away like some sweet melody played upon a grand instrument and only a few understand the tone of our passing.

~RD

So tiny a speck we tread... But so vast is our awe and wonder.

~RD

*************

October 2015

October 2015

Thursday 01- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I went to WalMart to do some shopping for supplies and get my haircut by a pretty gal called Sara. Then I went over to Home Depot to get a liner to seal the gasket for my refrigerator and while I was there I looked at some new ones, I needed to go get measurements from the one at my home to see if the ones they had there would fit.

I got home around 5pm and split the whole chicken I bought at WalMart with Cassie.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run with Cassie, did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

Friday 02- I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I went to Home Depot and told them I wanted the smaller 3.5 cubic foot one. This is even smaller than the one I have that broke down, but I never really had used its full capacity and this smaller one would conserve energy better than the older bigger one.

Saturday 03- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I worked on truck trying to find the right tire size and ordered four rims and tires online. They will be shipped to me and I’ll have to find some shop to mount them.

Astronomy read month of May“365 Starry Skies” trying to catch up.

Geology- answering chapter 4 questions.

Sunday 04- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I called family and friends throughout the day.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with Cassie I did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

I spent a lot of time online trying to find a lite trailer to hook up to my truck so I can start my travels. Called a few sellers and made offers and they’ll get back to me or I to them.

Monday 05- it rained most of the day.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I started to rain about 1pm so that put a lid on what I was going to do outside cleaning up the yard.

I worked on getting my new book organized and edited.

Tuesday 06- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

OnTrac Shipping arrived with my four new rims for the Ford F-150. I am still waiting for UPS to ship the tires from Ohio. I think there is a big storm holding up the shipment.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with Cassie and did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

I read all of the month of June in “365 Starry Nights” trying to get caught up.

Geology; started chapter 5, Mountain Belts and Continental Crust: scanned through the chapter and read the summary and then read the introduction.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run with Cassie, did some pullups and punched the heavybag for a round.

I practiced my guitar for a spell.

Wednesday 07- Rest up day for me so I did my stretches and took Cassie for all her walks throughout the day.

UPS arrived with my new 3.5cu. ft freezer. I had to move the old 5 cu. ft one outside and clean the dirty area where it sat for many years. Then I moved the new smaller one in and plugged it in and cooled down quite nicely. Moved everything out of the working Norcold fridge and took also took it outside.

FedEx arrived with my new study book “Chemistry a Molecular Approach” a very heavy book, must weight 15lbs.

I read all of the month of July in “365 Starry Nights”.

Geology chapter 5: size and alignment, thickness and characteristics of rock layers.

I started the chemistry book; read the preface, scanned through the whole book, and then read 1.1 of chapter one.

Thursday 08- warming up to 97 degrees.

I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I went to post office to get my book that was signed by Buzz Aldrin “

I went to AutoZone looking for a 2 inch trailer ball and electrical hookup for the trailer I might be buying. Met a man named Jones who knew a friend of mine called Rufus. We must have talked almost the better part of an hour about Rufus and Stoney. I did some shopping for supplies at Stater Bros. and gave Cassie a nice walk when I got home.

Saw a really bright bluish green earthgrazer around 2am when I let Cassie out to go pee.

Friday 09- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I went to the 29 Palms fire station on Lear Ave at 5pm for their open house. I met some really nice people there. I was introduced to the teacher who is putting on an EMR class at the firestation in January and I might just take the course to add to my skills for CERT; EMR is one step below EMT and I believe mostly deals in triage. There wasn't anyone manning the 29 Palms CERT booth. I asked around but nobody seemed to know who even set up the booth. I belong to a different CERT group or I would have manned the booth and answered any questions. I won a raffle and received a Copper Mountain College Fire Club t-shirt and a smoke alarm.

Saturday 10- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I finished reading the month of August in the “365 Starry Skies” and also ten days into October, so I’m all caught up.

Sunday 11- I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells and went for a mile run with Cassie.

Monday 12- I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

Tuesday 13- I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, took Cassie for a mile run, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Wednesday 14- I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks.

Thursday 15- very heavy rain!

I was driving home from Yucca Valley in the evening after dropping off Cassie and taking Sherry out to dinner, when the clouds let loose with a wild torrent... I felt like I was on my way to Oz...

I made it home safe, but it was a wild ride with lightning strikes very close by with buckets of rain obscuring my vision; flooded roads made me take an alternative route home.

Friday 15 to Saturday 24- went to Torrance to take care of family....

YAY for me! I'm back home in the High Desert after a week down in Torrance to take care of a few things...

I arrived back here Saturday around 6pm...

Cassie is going to continue to stay at my friend Sherry's house and play with her three dog so I can clean this old shack up and fumigate it to get rid of all the crawly creepy critters; I was on the phone last night and saw a Millipede climbing up the wall!

Sunday 25-

I did my stretches

Monday 26- I've been really busy cleaning my house today... if I didn't do it, and I know for sure my dog wouldn't do it, the place would gather in a great big ball of dirt and grime to roll down the hill and over the cliff and bounce all the way down to the ocean where me and my dog would drift away... hopefully to Hawaii

Tuesday 27- I did my stretches and got ready to go to Sherry to pick up Cassie. We went to the Sizzler and then did a little shopping.

Cassie was glad to see me and very happy to be home; she whined as we I drove up to the front gate of our home.

Wednesday 28 thru Friday 30- very high winds.

My allergies knocked me out for a spell, probably brought on by the winds

Saturday 31- Was going to potluck when I noticed a flat on the left back tire on the Cougar. Took the scooter instead to potluck and will fix the tire tomorrow. We all had a wonderful time at the potluck.

***** Stuff I Wrote this Month******

Many are the moments that come to pass, of all nature's treasures we may fail to grasp. Sweet are the blossoms, quick are the bees, the sun shines down upon all of these, to bring life to a planet, a world that we share with life that be precious, yet fragile if not treated with care.

~RD

It's always tomorrow somewhere in the world and yesterday is yet to happen...

~RD

I shall build you a castle on vast green lands near a river where we can sit and listen to the sounds of life and dream under starry skies and feel content for the very first time.

~RD

I like to play, I like to ask questions, I like to create; the universe is my playpen unbounded...

~RD

I had a blind puppy once. I found him wandering through the desert bumping into everything. Skin and bones, I picked him up and carried him to my home. I had him a month and he'd go for runs with me and had the whole backyard mapped out in his head except for Fat Cat who would give him a good whack on the nose... ya see the puppy didn't know he was blind and thought this was the way of the world. The German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County had found a home for him with a couple who had just lost their blind dog. It was a sad day for me when I handed him over, but it was for the dog's own good and to a family who could give him the attention he needed... Happy tears :')  

Halloween Story: Pleasant dreams

I’ve been besieged by night demons who gather around and hover over me... waiting. Festering like the pox they do... somewhere between the cold creep of night and the twilight of dawn. They flow from mind to mind, haunting dreamers’ dreams with death and decay, want and dismay, greed and lust.

They cannot exist but only in this realm between realms, so they must be quick. Greedily fighting amongst themselves they do to be the first to gain entrance from without and probe a gateway within to spread their evil wicked sickness. Painfully I twist and turn in my bed, gasping for breath by the weight of their presence; like cold steel clamps tightening around my chest ever squeezing, crushing, suffocating the life out of me. Sweat pours from my body onto my bed sheets.

I can now feel their tentacles squirming throughout the hollows of  my mind to seize control and squeeze out those memories I try to hide. I resist as I can, but they begin to ooze their ugly wickedness into my thoughts, my dreams, my inner being. I can smell their hot moist breath like putrid decomposed flesh inhaling my life force and exhaling miasma and dripping viscid fluid onto my soul.

I always seem to awaken from this dreadful dream before some great catastrophe befalls me, like hitting the ground after tumbling over a cliff or being shot in the face by a mugger; I fear what would happen if I did not.

They are unaware I know of them and their nefarious ways. For I have seen them all; as a little child I was thought safe in bed, but awoke from a ghastly nightmare to catch a flitting glimpse of their pox scarred ghostly gray silhouettes scurrying away in fright and flight into the darken crevices and corners of my bedroom from which they came.

I take great personal risk in telling you of these hideous creatures of the night and to caution all who will listen; they’ll sweep in just as you wake in the realm between realms to scour your mind for any weakness and prey upon your sins. So be strong my friend and do no wrong to others or they shall seek you out and you'll become another evil force upon this world.

Take heed my words!

Pleasant dreams...

~RD

I don't see life as paths or roads to follow. I see life more as being on a little sailboat. You have your destination, but you are alone in a sea of wonder and at the mercy of the wind and waves. You set your course, tack back and forth and eventually arrive. Sometimes a fog bank rolls in you must stay calm and rely on your instincts and skill to proceed. There are treacherous storms you must fight through, larger ships you must avoid, and steep swells that want to drag you under before safe harbor you shall find.

~RD