April 2018

April 2018

Sunday 01- Clear 84° | 63°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile and a half.

Easter Sunday I went to Joshua Tree Zine Fest at our Community Community...

I drove to my mailbox on Border Ave. to collect my mail.

I finished chapter 19 and started chapter 20 of the geology textbook.

Monday 04- Clear 84° | 60°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells, and ran a good mile.

Continued reading chapter 20 of the geology textbook. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Tuesday 03- Clear 82° | 61°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

I painted the whole guest trailer in Snow Coat... took all day, but I got it done. Now it’s all bright white.

I finished chapter 20 and began chapter 21 of the geology textbook.

I listened to 3 podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Wednesday 04- windy Clear 86° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged 1.5 miles.
I went to Yucca to do some shopping at Staters and WalMart for supplies.

Thursday 05- Clear 88° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

I went to drive-in movie with a friend to watch “Ready Player One,” and “Tomb Raider.”

Friday 06- very windy Clear 88° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a good mile.

Saturday 07- scattered showers 93° | 66°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, exercised with the 20 and 30 lbs dumbbells, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

Sunday 08- Clear 84° | 59°
I did my stretches.

Monday 09- Clear 87° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

I finally finished studying the Geology textbook.

I listened to 2 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 414 Navigating Far and 413 Navigating Near

Tuesday 10- Clear 91° | 55°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 30 lbs dumbbells, and jogged a good mile with Cassie.

I listened to 2 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 416 Fireballs from the Sky! and 415 Temperature of the Universe.

Wednesday 11- Clear 81° | 61°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 2.5 miles.

Thursday 12- really windy day- Clear 79° | 60°

I did my stretches.
I listened to 2 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 418 Error and 418: I’m a Teapot! And 417: Expectation Failed

Friday 13- Clear 72° | 54°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, rode my ebike 2 miles, and jogged 2.5 miles.

Worked on the Harley for a spell.

I listened to 3 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 421 Space Games! 420 FIRE! And 419 DragonCon 2016 Live – Rocket Girls.

Saturday 14- Clear 81° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles. Bike got a flat or I would have ridden it.

I got a call from my friends Wessel and Greg from Holland telling me that they are at the Denny’s Restaurant in Twentynine Palms... I jumped in my car and raced to meet the two of them there for dinner. We yammered on about things and times gone past... good times :)

Sunday 15- Clear 84° | 52°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie a good mile.

A friend dropped by to watch 3 episodes of “Lost in Space” on Netflix tonight.

Monday 16- Cloudy 78° | 48°

I did my stretches; to many particulates in the air to do any heavy exercising.

I worked most of the day securing my home from high winds gusting up to 60 mph at times.

A friend and I watched one episode of LIS tonight.

Tuesday 17- Clear 68° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Cassie got away, but I was able to get her to run home after me on the scooter.

Wednesday 18- Clear 78° | 44°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I drove on over to WalMart to replenish my food supplies.

Thursday 19- Cloudy 66° | 50°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie a mile.

2Gig RAM  for Toughbook CF-30 I’m working on was delivered and rode scooter to mailbox on Lear Ave to get it. I installed it and the CF-30 runs mighty clean now.

Friday 20- Clear 81° | 52°

I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged with Cassie a mile.

Rode the scooter to pick up battery and parts for Toughbook CF-30 I’m working on. Testing it out now to see if the battery is any good.

Saturday 21- Clear 87° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie for a mile.

New battery for Toughbook seems to be okay.

Sunday 22- Cloudy 91° | 63°

I did my stretches and jogged with Cassie for a mile.

I worked in the yard

Monday 23- Cloudy 93° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie a whole mile.

I did searches on all my backup drives to collect songs I wrote and recorded. Went through some photos of friends from times gone past as I searched.

Tuesday 24- Cloudy 93° | 64°

I did my stretches... had a toss and turn sleep last night; probably something I ate.

I went to the post office in 29 and also did shopping at Stater Bros. there.

Wednesday 25- Cloudy 93° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie for a mile.

Thursday 26- Cloudy 95° | 64°

I did my stretches and jogged two miles.

Friday 27- Clear 95° | 66°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Saturday 28- Clear 87° | 57°

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

I went to potluck:

Cal Mayers brought his son Calvin and daughter Tina along toting a tray full of assorted fruits to share. Chris VanNortrick stirred us up some veggie chili mac casserole along with a pumpkin cheesecake pie. Dorothy Jacobsen rolled up a bunch of spicy meatballs for us to enjoy. Dyan Carroll was busy in her kitchen cooking up an enchilada casserole, a chocolate pie, cauliflower with cheese sauce, and a very decadent southern sour cream raisin pie. Bruce cooked up some magical baked beans he said would sing to you when you get home. Yvonne Frances slid into the community center at the last moment with her yummy banana pudding. I brought my usual pot of rice which went well with the Dorothy’s meatballs. Birthdays this month were Tina Mayers and John Jacobsen. We would have sung Happy Birthday to them, but everyone was too busy eating the fantastic grub. I went for seconds and thirds as did everyone else.

Sunday 29- Clear 82° | 59°

I did my stretches and took Cassie and Barney for a very long walk.

Monday 30- Cloudy 77° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile with Cassie and Barney.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

In my dream I followed a steep trail making my way carefully, climbing over boulders, scaling ridges, and traversing gullies and streams. Ever so slowly higher through the pass I climbed as billowing clouds before me grew ominously darker with turbulent black foreboding. With much arduous effort I finally reached the summit of a great mountain I fought. I saw a man standing alone before me, immobile, right forefoot at the edge of precipice, looking casually out at the wide expanse of mountainous ranges. Wind blown hail pelted him as his long black cloak rippled like the sounds of a gale ripping through sails of a mighty clipper ship rounding Cape Horn. Weaken by my climb, I clung to rocks and crevices as I slowly crawled to the foot of the man. Fighting the bitter wind, frost formed encrusting my beard, teeth chattering, and I could no longer feel my fingers as I reached out to grab onto this omniscient man’s ankle. He finally took notice and bent ever so slightly down to peer questionably into my face. Stunned by what I saw I lost my grip and was swiftly swept away to be thrown back down the mountain trail far from the raging madness at the edge of forever.
~RD

Yes Ariji, blood does not make a family. Family is sword. Forged in the fires of infinity from the finest metals, laid bare upon the hard anvil of sacrifice, pounded and folded over many times to remove impurities by the hammer of truth, then sharpened by time, honed to a razor’s edge, protecting the ones we love.
~RD

Whispering to a future whose burdens I will never bear. Whispers that glide upon waves of time, forever left behind... left behind... will I always be left behind? Written words gather, collects like dust on windowpane. Be it me or another, it doesn’t matter... it’s really all the same. Whispering to a future whose burdens I will never bear... did I make myself clear? Will they even listen, will they even care?
~RD

So symmetrical the tiny snowflake, so surreal the structure; fragile but firm, to drift from great heights falling upon my palm, then in an instant it’s already gone.
~RD

I have to laugh at myself when I look back on all the dumb things I did and all the crazy people I’ve met in my life... and you know what? I wouldn’t change a dang thing!

~RD

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

March 2018

March 2018

By the way, if I missed mentioning this in my journal here and there; I take my doggies for a walk everyday and do the poop patrol every two or three days... just if ya wondered.

Thursday 01- windy and cold. 64° | 37°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 20lbs dumbbells, and went for a mile jog.

Friday 02- windy 68° | 36°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.

Saturday 03- very windy with scattered Clouds 63° | 43°

I did my stretches and messed around online and worked on my computers.

Sunday 04- Scattered Clouds 57° | 39°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

Tegan came by with her car wanting to know if I knew a good car mechanic. I told her I do all my own work on my vehicles, but I’ll take a fast look-see. I couldn’t see anything wrong under the hood, so I told her where my friends take their cars for repair in Yucca Valley. I found out she is a writer too :)

Monday 05- Scattered Clouds 61° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs, and jogged a good mile.

Tuesday 06- 69° | 41°

I did my stretches.

I went into Twentynine Palms to the post office to pick up another package. I went to Building Supply that use to be Bar Lumber. I had thought they had closed down, but I was told different, and I took two propane tanks down there to get them filled.

Wednesday 07- Scattered Clouds 66° | 39°

I did my stretches, yoga, I did the core trainer and weight bench for the first time since my fall, punched the heavybag, and went for a mile jog.

Thursday 08- 79° | 46°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

Been doing some writing and coming up with some ideas for a new book. I still have to edit Book 2 of “Upon Ashen Roads” and a few poems I haven’t completed.

Friday 09- Scattered Clouds 79° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went for a mile and a half jog.
I worked in the yard cleaning it up and doing a poop patrol. 

Saturday 10- Rain! 63° | 43°

I did my stretches.

I did more clean-up of the yard. I want to get rid of everything that doesn’t serve a purpose.  

Sunday 11- partly cloudy 69° | 51°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells, and jogged a mile.

I went to the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books. I read my poem I wrote just before getting in my car and driving there... when you get inspired you just have to stop everything and just do it whatever it is.

Monday 12- 77° | 50°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a good mile.

I went to Yucca Valley to LabCorp to have my blood tested. I also went to Stater Bros and WalMart to get supplies and a haircut.

I got home and the phone rang. It was a person at LabCorp telling me they have my results. I thought that was dang fast and told her I just had it done today. She double checked and found it was last years. I asked her what the results were from last years... my whatchamacallit was high at 69 and normal was 46. She told me she should have the new results by Wednesday and would give me a call.

Tuesday 13- Partly cloudy 78° | 57°
I did my stretches and jogged a mile and a half.

I cleared out all the pans, food containers, and other mess from under the kitchen counter. I will clean and wipe it down real good tomorrow.

Kelly’s kitten Running Cloud passed away this evening. He was 19 years old and a very brave and wonderful kitty.

I saw the first flowers this year.

Wednesday 14- a very windy day! 75° | 51°

I did my stretches.

I got my results for my blood test from LabCorp and my whatchamacallit was 46.1 down form a high of 69, so I am back to normal I guess. I have to go in for another test in one month.

I cleaned the kitchen counter shelves with bleach and Pinesol; took most of the day. I also removed the sink drain U-joint to get all the yucky stuff trapped there.

Thursday 15- rained early this morning. 64° | 45°

I did my stretches, and jogged a good mile.

My HP G72 laptop has an Intel 4500HD video which does not have a driver for Windows 10 I found out. Now I know why Win 10 kept hanging on updating for the past year... I tried to reinstall Win7, but says it isn't genuine; which it is!
I have found this mess everyone's calling Windows 10 a complete failure for me and many others folks. After a lot of effort and time spent on the G72, I finally installed Linux Mint and it runs just fine and I don't have to "babysit" my computer when doing an update or bow down to Big Corporate Microsoft’s finagling. I have a few other machines running Win 10, but I kinda switched over to OSX, Mint, and Chrome without all the hoops and hassle Microsoft forces you to navigate.

Friday 16- 66° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells, and jogged with the dogs for a good mile.

Saturday 17- windy and cold 62° | 42°

I did my stretches, yoga, and ran a good mile.

Kicking back taking it easy. I did my exercises earlier in the day... did some work around the house; stuff like that. Real windy and cold right now.

Sunday 18- 64° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, and jogged a good mile.
I cut a whole lot of firewood from old leftover 2x4s given to me many years ago when the county was tearing down old shacks in the neighborhood.

I did a load of laundry done an hung out to dry. Got another load in the tub soaking overnight. 

I did the poop patrol... I think I feed the dogs too much!

Monday 19- Scattered Clouds 68° | 39°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.
I did another load of laundry...

I rode my bike over to Kjtel’s to visit and have a nice chat. Later she came to my home with her van and we worked on her driver’s side door window. The cable to the motor had gotten bound up and wouldn’t close the window all the way. Finally we, after some effort, had to cut the cable and then hold the window closed by tying a nylon line to secure it in place. I enjoyed our little quality time we had working on the van door.

Tuesday 20- Scattered Clouds 75° | 45°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half.

Put some more clothes in the small washer to soak overnight.

Gathered up my taxes to send away to my sister Lynn’s husband Paul to do for me, but first I have to convert them all into PDFs. My scanner doesn’t work on Windows 10, so I had to get out my Windows 7 laptop. I had everything setup, but when I went to turn on the laptop Microsoft said my copy of Win 7 wasn’t genuine (I’m really disgusted with Microsoft)... had to jump through hoops again and finally got my copy approved. It got late and will update the program and drivers for the scanner tomorrow.

Wednesday 21- Scattered Clouds 75° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.

Too overcast today, so the clothes in the washer gets to soak another day.

I updated the program and drivers for the scanner and turned all my tax forms into PDFs to be sent off.

I used up a whole gallon of Henry White Roofing Sealant on the seams of the guest trailer. As I was on the ladder with the putty knife doing this, a few drops of rain fell on my head, but that’s all the rain we got. 

I did my stretches and Cassie and I ran up and back down the hill in front of my house.

Did some studies- listened to two astronomy podcasts and read some in the geology book about streams and erosions.

  

Thursday 22- high winds and rain 73° | 55°

I did my stretches.
I saw a skinny old woman at WalMart get lifted up into the dark cloudy skies and carried off to who knows where!

Friday 23- 75° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged three miles.
It was sunny enough today to finish my laundry and hang them out to dry.

I am trying to get back into my studies after my bad fall and a few other setbacks, so I began reading from the geology textbook starting where I left off at chapter 16. I listened to three podcasts of Astronomy Cast. 

Saturday 24- 72° | 52°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with my dogs in tow.

I read from the geology textbook and finished chapter 16. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Sunday 25- 68° | 48°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with my dogs in tow.
I read from the geology textbook and started chapter 17. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

A lost woman, Susan, drove into my driveway looking for directions. I helped her out with that and also looked at her car she said was making a bad bumping noise. It turned out one screw came loose on a skid plate next to her exhaust, but was secured by two others. I told her it wouldn’t case a problem until she could get the screw replaced later.

Monday 26- Scattered Clouds 64° | 45°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with Cassie; Barney didn’t want to come.

It was Kjtel’s Birthday and I went to her house and had a wonderful chat.
I read from the geology textbook and finished chapter 17. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Tuesday 27- 68° | 48°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.
Kjtel called for me to come visit and meet her two friends who will be staying with her. Their names are Giovanni and Damon, both 24 years old and twins. Seems like good folks to me.

I read from the geology textbook starting chapter 18. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Wednesday 28- 79° | 46°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with my dogs.

I read from the geology textbook and finished chapter 18. I listened to two more podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Thursday 29- 84° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.

Post office Stater Bros.
I read from the geology textbook started chapter 19. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast, one I had to listen to because I fell asleep to it yesterday.

Friday 30- 88° | 55°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 2.5 miles with my dogs.

I finished chapter 19 of the geology book. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Saturday 31- 88° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs, and jogged a good mile. 

We had a wonderful Easter Eve Potluck at our little community center Saturday evening with plenty of food to go around and lots to take home, too. There was David King’s baked ham and beans. Dyan and Dorothy’s chicken broccoli casserole and carrots hollandaise. Yvonne's pasta chicken salad and lemon cherry tarts. Kip Fjeld tasty strawberry pie. Mack cooked up some yummy pasta. And lastly, Chris VanNortrick presented us with two casseroles, banana bread, and cupcakes.

On a special note: Dorothy Jacobsen finally ate a chocolate carrot cake made by her loving daughter Dyan Carroll, from a recipe Dorothy read about 50 year ago. 

It was a mighty fine day indeed.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

Put a little more of yourself
into your day...

~RD

Without love there is hate and sorrow. Without hope there is only defeat.
~RD

I live in a destination, a beautiful area known as Joshua Tree. Now AirBnBs are popular, buying up property, changing the population and culture by pushing denizens of the desert out, changing it into their city. Big Box stores are trying to find a toehold in Joshua Tree, changing it so it isn’t special anymore... Once this happens Joshua Tree won’t be a destination, it will be like everywhere else and people will stop coming here for the unique “Roughing it” experience and solitude that they themselves seek from wherever large cities they came.
~RD

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

February 2018

February 2018

Thursday 01- Scattered Clouds 75° | 44°

I did my stretches. I’m kinda kicking back for a spell after giving blood yesterday.

I drove the truck to Home Depot to get some 2x4s to start framing the trailer.

I walked the dogs when I got back.

Friday 02- Scattered Clouds 77° | 46°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag. 

Saturday 03- Scattered Clouds 77° | 48°

I did my stretches and worked all day on the trailer.

Sunday 04- Clear 77° | 50°

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a good mile jog.

Continued to work on the “Guest House”.

Monday 05- Clear 79° | 48°

I did my stretches, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a good mile jog.
I went to Home Depot to get some more building material.

Last night at the black house across the way frome me, some man was going crazy screaming and cursing at the top of his lungs for over 6 hours. I also believe he was playing music very loudly. He was acting very strange and scary like he took some bad acid or something. The police finally came out after 11pm and I'm not sure what happened after that, but all went silent after that. The owner of that Airbnb where the man was staying should be a little more careful on who he rents to. 

Tuesday 06- Clear 75° | 50°

I did my stretches.

I went right to work on the ‘Guest House” cutting and trimming, hammering and sawing.

Wednesday 07- Clear 73° | 43°

I did my stretches, jogged a mile, situps and punched the heavybag.

Thursday 08- Clear 78° | 45°

I did my stretches and then worked on the trailer (Guest House) all day long.

Friday 09- Clear 80° | 46°

I did my stretches.

I went to a reading at Space Cowboy Books to listen to Susan Rukeyser read from her new book “Not On Fire Only Dying”. I had a pleasant time there taking to others in the group of poets I seem to belong to.

Saturday 10- Partly Cloudy 80° | 50°

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a mile jog.

I continued to work on the Guest House and finally completed one whole side.

Sunday 11- Scattered Clouds 62° | 45

I did my stretches, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a mile jog.

I went to a poem reading at Space Cowboy Books and read a poem.

Monday 12- Scattered Clouds 63° | 45° very windy.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a good mile jog.

I was working on the trailer and got knocked down hard to the ground when a big gust of wind hit me when I was carrying a sheet of plywood. Dang stupid what I did. Man, I was down for the count. There I laid for 20 minutes before getting back up because at first, I thought I was going to die. I thought I had broke something. I found out I just pulled something in my groin area left side and hurts like hell when I cough, sneeze or try to get up or bend in a certain way... also cuts abrasions, and contusions.  I've been resting in bed trying to recover... I hurt all over.

Tuesday 13 through to Saturday 17- very windy and cold these days...

 After my fall I rested for two days trying to stay off my feet. I watched Youtube videos of all kinds of science and computer stuff. I wrote many poems which I submitted to Cholla Needles monthly poem publication. I bricked my  OLPC X01 (One Laptop Per Child) three times. I finally found a way to do a restore and brought it back to factory setting. I did a little light work on the guest trailer. My guest moved in on the 16th and will be staying with me for a couple of months.

Sunday 18- Clear 71° | 37°

I did my stretches.

Monday 19- Rain 51° | 37° with high winds

I did my stretches and very lightly exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells.

Tuesday 20- cold and windy 48° | 30°

I did my stretches and very lightly exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Wednesday 21- cold and windy,  Partly Cloudy 50° | 27

I did my stretches and exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Thursday 22- cold and windy 57° | 30°

I did my stretches...

I went to Twentynine Palms, got gas, visited the post office to collect my WringMaster wringer and other packages and then hopped on over to Staters to get supplies.

Friday 23- Scattered Clouds 52° | 35°

I did my stretches and l exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells. Still trying to keep it all light and not pushing myself too much until I feel better. That fall I had really did a number on me.

A young woman, Tegan, from the little cabin above me dumped trash in my dumpster... nice girl, said is renting and landlord told her to dump her trash here. I told Tegan it was okay for her to use my dumpster, but told her to tell her landlord to contact me; I never gave her landlord permission to use it. 

Saturday 24- Clear 55° | 32°

I did my stretches and exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Just before I was to go to potluck FedEx finally delivered my mattress that was supposed to be here on Tuesday.

We had another yummy potluck this last Saturday. The serving table was overflowing with wonderful delicious offerings prepared by loving desert folk. This month’s theme was Valentine’s Day and the tables were decorated in pink plastic table covers with red hearts. Dorothy Jacobsen, her son John and daughter Dyan Carroll amazed us all with fish patties, red lobster biscuits, mac and cheese, and a tasty vanilla cherry trifle. Chris VanNortrick cooked up a fantastic meatloaf and a side dish of pea salad. Yvonne brought her world famous pineapple angel food cake along with ham and potatoes au gratin. David King outdid himself this time with a braised beef simmering in a crockpot along side veggies; mighty good stuff. Cal Myers continued Bob Seely’s tradition of bringing in a fruit tray for those who don’t partake in meat or have gluten intolerance. Upon leaving, Dyan handed out little gift bags with a big pink cookie heart in each and filled with candies to match the occasion; I thought this very thoughtful and nice. I wish I could cook and bring something other than rice, but I'm very gastronomically challenged. There was enough food leftover for seconds and take-home; which I took full advantage of.

Sunday 25- Clear 57° | 37°

I did my stretches and rode my bike over to visit my neighbor Kjtel.

I setup my new queen side bed and took the tiny one me and Cassie been sharing since she was a puppy. She outgrew the bed and practically took it over from me. Now we got a lot of room on the bed. I took the old twin bed out to the guest house and set it up there.

Monday 26- Clear 64° | 30°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 20lb weights.

My very good friend, Scott Tooher came out with his wife Debra for a visit. I haven’t seen Scott for over thirty years. They brought a bucket of KFC chicken with all the trimming too! We yammer on for over four hours about friends and times gone past. It was a wonderful visit and I hope to catch up with them on the road some time when I go traveling around the country. Good times!

Tuesday 27- Partly Cloudy 53° | 39°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

I setup my propane powered shower device outside and we had a nice hot shower going. It’s been sitting in the garage for a couple of years and just now decided to hook it all up.

Wednesday 28- Scattered Clouds 61° | 37°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 20lb weights, and finally got up the courage to jog a good mile. I had a friend at potluck who uses a cane to walk come lean up to me saying he envied me how I get outside and exercise and jog almost every day. I didn’t tell him I had a fall and haven’t jogged in a few weeks, so I got out there today and did a mile jog and it felt mighty good.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

I didn’t know how alone I was until I tried being around people....
~RD

To be creative you must fly. If you cannot fly you must believe that you can.
~RD

It’s always 8:15 somewhere in the world.
A student lost in thought stares out the classroom window; it’s 8:15 someplace.
A mother caresses her newborn child; it’s 8:15 somewhere.
Families gather across this great nation to mourn fallen sons and daughters killed on battlefields far far away; it’s 8:15 and gloomy.
Supermarkets filled with customers, cute children sitting in shopping carts reaching out for their favorite cereals; it’s 8:15 in the afternoon.
Politicians assemble to make laws while the privileged pull strings to control them; it’s always 8:15 elsewhere.
Birds build nests in trees, park sprinklers turn on to water the fresh cut grass; it’s 8:15 and sunny.
Even as the Doomsday Clock ticks ever closer to midnight; it’s always 8:15 there.
On a beautiful August morning, the aroma of cherry blossoms, sounds of everyday life, the laughter of children in schoolyards playing suddenly cease by a blast so loud nobody heard. All these lovely things reduced down to their elementary particles and swept up to mingle in a rising cloud of hot raging plasma. Only the skies overhead witnessed the lonely aircraft flying away. Shadows painted on the walls at 8:15 in the morning.
~RD

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

January 2018

January 2018

Monday 01- Clear 71° | 37°

I run down the hill into 2018 and uploaded the video to YouTube and also posted it on FaceBook.

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a two and a half mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag. I went and took the electric bike out for a ride.

I took the dogs for a walk over to visit my neighbor Kjtel and checkout the work she has done on her new trailer.

Tuesday 02- Clear 73° | 48°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a mile and a half jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag and took the electric bike out for a ride.

Rode my scooter to the mailbox on Border Ave. to send out signed papers from my doctor.

I did my studies: history and drew something.

Wednesday 03- Clear 67° | 45°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20lbs weights, went for a mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag and took the electric bike out for a ride. I also took Cassie and Barney separately on a bike ride up the hill and back.

I did my studies: history, geology, meteorology, and drew something.

Took the dogs for a walk.

Thursday 04- 71° | 43°

I did my stretches and went for a two and a half mile jog.

I did my studies: history, geology, meteorology, played guitar and drew something.

Took the dogs for a little jog.

Friday 05- 72° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag, and took the dogs out on the bike for a ride.

I did the laundry and sweeped all the room inside my house. 

Saturday 06- Scattered Clouds 71° | 48°

I did my stretches.

I began to instal a sundome on my roof over the living room. Only got the roof part done. I will finish cutting in from the inside tomorrow. Spent most of my time hunting down tools and such to complete the job on the roof.

Sunday 07- 69° | 50°

I did my stretches.

I finished the cutting the hole for the inside of the dome and it really brings in the light into the living room. I am so glad I finally did it. When I get the time I will get to work on the trim and make it look real nice.

Monday 08- 66° | 53° cloudy with light evening sprinkles.
I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag, and took the dogs out for a run with my bike.

I started moving boxes of books, clothes and old computers out of the old trailer out back. I am going to make it into a guest room for friends who come to visit. I was using it for storage and threw a whole lot of stuff I don’t need anymore into the trash.
Went to Linda Harter’s house to say our goodbyes. I helped her burn a whole bunch of papers and documents one gathers through one’s life... it was kinda like a parting of old memories and starting life anew for her- the 50 gallon barrel smoldered for hours turning what was once official and meaningful, but now only years of accumulated useless and unwanted baggage into puffs of smoke drifting through the brisk high desert winter air. I will miss her.

Tuesday 09- 57° | 48° rain!

I did my stretches.

Went shopping and then to doctor’s appointment at 3:15pm. Of course it rains when I’m going to town. Winters is flooded and I just made it out before Lake Lucille formed at the bottom of my hill. I came back home on via Lear and Winters which hopefully wasn’t too bad.

Wednesday 10- Scattered Clouds 64° | 45°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a mile jog with the dogs, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag, and took Cassie out for a run with my bike.

Thursday 11- 64° | 46° the wind picked up in the evening

I did my stretches.

Friday 12- Scattered Clouds 68° | 42° really windy!

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a mile jog with the dogs, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag.

Saturday 13- Scattered Clouds 69° | 48°

I did my stretches, situps, punched heavybag and worked out with the 20lb dumbbells.

Sunday 14- Scattered Clouds 68° | 46°

I did my stretches and yoga.

I went to a reading at Cowboy Space Books and read my poem:
Swift are the clouds that lick the skies above, quick are the birds who fly through their tapestry, brilliant are their colors as the Sun sinks into the sea, lovely are the stars as they deflect darkness from our lives, beauty is the warmth I feel with my beloved sitting very closely by my side. ~RD

Monday 15- Scattered Clouds 71° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a mile, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

I took the old paneling and fiberglass to the trash after separating anything I can use for the new insides. The dumpster is now full and trash pick up is tomorrow.

Tuesday 16- Scattered Clouds 68° | 48°

I did my stretches, situps, and punched the heavybag..

Wednesday 17- Scattered Clouds 69° | 43°

I did my stretches, yoga, went for a mile jog, situps, and punched the heavybag.

I worked on the trailer

Thursday 18- 70° | 44°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a mile, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

Worked on the trailer continuing to gut the insides.

I did my studies: history, geology, astronomy, meteorology, played guitar and drew something.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, sit-ups punched the heavybag, and went night jog.

Friday 19- Scattered Clouds 73° | 43°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a mile, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

I had to use a dull hacksaw on the pipe connecting the water tank in the trailer to the outside water inlet. I’ll remove the whole tank tomorrow.

Saturday 20- Scattered Clouds 55° | 42°

I did my stretches.

I removed the tank from the trailer. I took more of the old paneling to the trash after separating the 2x2 wood strips; I’ll keep those for framing the new insides.

Sunday 21- Scattered Clouds 55° | 36°

I did my stretches, went for a mile, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag, and rode my bike.

Trailer is now pretty muched gutted and I spent some time pulling nails and staples sticking out of the framework.

Visited Kjtel my neighbor for a spell.

Went for a night run with Cassie.

Found out that my classmate in 5th and 6th grade and longtime friend Arlos had passed away last August. I just went to check on him on FaceBook to see what he was up to.

Monday 22- 60° | 34°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a mile, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

I took the day off from working on the trailer.

Kjtel dropped by for a visit. We agreed to take our dogs for a walk at 3:30. She was a little late getting here, but we went on a very long walk with the dogs.

Tuesday 23- 64° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells.

Walked my laundry over to Kjtel’s. We chatted for a spell.

Took the dogs on a nice long walk.

Walked back over to Kjtel’s to pick up my damp laundry she had hung out but didn’t dry. I hung them on my clothesline at home.

Wednesday 24- Scattered Clouds 63° | 34°

I did my stretches.

I went to Yucca for the Phlebotomy (where they took blood out of me), but before I did I went to Home Depot to get some insulation for the trailer and stopped at Stater Bros for supplies.

While I was in town I met a woman who had the same kinda situation as a child as I.

Thursday 25- Scattered Clouds 66° | 37°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, jogged a good mile, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

I started the process of insulating the guest house (old trailer)...

I took the dogs for a walk and did my situps and punched the heavybag.

I went on poop patrol after sunset.

I messed around with computers for a spell.

I did my stretches and worked out with 20lb dumbbells.

I did my studies: history, geology, astronomy, meteorology and drew something.

Friday 26- 60° | 39°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

I went to work on the Guest House and tore out all the AC electrical wires and connections. I did a good sweep up of the whole place.

I did my stretches, situps, heavybag, exercised with the 10lb dumbells, and took the dogs a mile jog.

I did my studies: history, geology, astronomy, meteorology and drew something.
I did some stretches, 20lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for a night jog up our hill and back. It’s something Cassie and I can do together without the other dogs.

Saturday 27- 63° | 36°

I did my stretches.

I drove to our community potluck with my small offering of rice. There were only ten desert denizens showing up, but we always like to say when attendance is small, “it’s not the quantity but quality of the folks who come and share.” I should also add it’s the quantity and quality of the food we serve.
Dorothy Jacobsen and her daughter Dyan Carroll really cooked up a storm of mighty yummy foods; fried chicken, country gravy, mashed potatoes and a wide assortment of other dishes and desserts. Patty brought a cheese casserole and a mouth watering lemon cake. Bruce smeared cheesecake icing over a chocolate bundt cake. Yvonne cooked up a tasty Chicken Alfredo and a delicious caramel cake that took her 15 minutes to cut up into small squares. Also in attendance were Gil, Charles Lange, and Jeff who brought their big appetites and generous donations.
Chris VanNortrick has taken over the responsibilities of organizing and setting up our potluck since her mother Mary Koval started convalescing last year. Chris is doing a wonderful job of carrying on our potluck tradition, now in its 20th year. Us desert folk really appreciate Chris’s efforts.
Our potluck takes place on the last Saturday of every month at 4pm and everyone is welcome to attend.

Sunday 28-  Scattered Clouds 71° | 48°

I did my stretches.

Monday 29- Scattered Clouds 73° | 51°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

I found out I am expected to write six pages of poems; challenge accepted.
I took the dogs for a nice long evening walk and did situps, punched the heavybag, and exercised with the 10lb dumbbells.

Tuesday 30- Scattered Clouds 72° | 46°

I did my stretches, yoga, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag.

Played with my computers for a spell trying to update a couple of really old ones with a new OS to make them operational.

I took the dogs for an evening walk, did situps, punched the heavybag.

I did my studies: history, geology, astronomy, meteorology and drew something.
I did some stretches, 20lb dumbbells, and took Cassie for a night jog up our hill and back.

Wednesday 31- 75° | 42°

I did my stretches.

I went to the outpatient clinic 

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

I was left a message to call the local healthcare center in Yucca. I had no idea what it was about... I called and the receptionist said I need to make an appointment there because the my doctor ordered a Phlebotomy for me. I misunderstood her to say lobotomy... kinda scared me! 

In a field of darken shadows, hidden by a winter’s haze of rain, sleet and snow, a lonely tree stands its ground in frosted meadow bare. All its leaves have fallen, not a trace of life remains. The tree is waiting to embrace the warmth of sun again and not another cold winter’s dawn; there's a poem here to be written, words to be gathered up and found, with some soul searching and fingers typing, the process has begun. Only when all these words are put together, and all is well and true, the story of this tree’s life, its many sunny days of spring, with buzzing bees and chipping birds, will its story come out to you.
~RD

I went to a friend’s house she recently sold to say our goodbyes. I helped her burn a whole bunch of papers and documents one gathers through one’s life... it was kinda like a parting of old memories and starting life anew for her- the 55 gallon barrel smoldered for hours turning what was once official and meaningful, but now only years of accumulated useless and unwanted baggage into puffs of smoke drifting through the brisk high desert winter air. It's hard to let go, but it’s the only way to move forward.
 I will miss her.
~RD

BEFORE
Suspended in eternal darkness, part of a greater whole, without body or thought, just the presence of being... floating... alone... Ephemeral are the eons, millenniums past without notice, time has no meaning... floating... drifting in currents neither cold nor warm... alone... until drawn from these binding shadows to a pool of radiant light... among others I felt but could not see, beings such as I. Talons clutched on obscurity’s crumbling edge, to gaze into inviting ripples of pure luminescence and of what may lie beyond. A veil of fear and hesitation suddenly washes over me, feelings I have never felt, but somehow always knew. I wrestled with those arms of darkness grabbing madly at my soul. Disturbed were the other beings now fluttering above the ledge, like vultures hopping and dancing over a carcass while I waded into the shallow waters of the pool of life to drop down into the realm of man.
~RD

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

December 2017

December 2017

Friday 01- 73° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag. 

I did my laundry.

I put compost on all the outside plants and then watered it all down.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, sit-ups punched the heavybag, and went night jog.
I played my guitar for a spell


Saturday 02- 73° | 43°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag. I took the electric bike out for a ride.

I did my studies: history, geology, astronomy, meteorology, drew something, and practiced on my guitar for a while.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells, sit-ups punched the heavybag, and went night jog.


Sunday 03- 75° | 45°

I did my stretches, yoga went for a good mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag. 




Monday 04- 55° | 44°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag. 




Tuesday 05- 55° | 42°

I did my stretches, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

I went to 29 Palms to pick up a package and then to Stater Bros. to get some supplies.

Dogs escaped because I forgot to close the gate when I drove in. Rounded them up with the help of my neighbor Chris.

Kelly has been coming over these past few weeks feeding her dogs. Once I finished my 50 thousand word writing (Brain Dump) challenge on Nov 21, I finally have the time to unwind and watch “The Expanse” sci fi series with her.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, went for a mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag. Dang cold outside!

I did my studies: history, geology, astronomy, meteorology, drew something.




Wednesday 06- 63° | 43°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag, and rode my bike.

Went to Yucca Valley with Kelly and got Chinese takeout.




Thursday 07- 64° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag, and rode my bike.

I took the dogs out for an evening jog and did sit-ups and punched the heavybag for a spell.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, went for a night jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.




Friday 08- 69° | 39°

I did my stretches, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, worked out with the 20lb dumbbells, sit-ups and punched the heavybag.

I visited my neighbor Kjtel. She found a mother pitbull with a bunch of puppies.




Saturday 09- Scattered Clouds 70° | 39°

I did my stretches.

I took the dogs for a nice long walk and the rest of the day off from exercising to do some work around the house. I loaded Win7 back on my HP G52 Laptop that’s having problems doing updates of Win10.

Sunday 10- Partly Cloudy 68° | 42°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups and punched the heavybag. 

I went to a open reading at Space Cowboy Books and read one of my poems. Lots of nice folks there also reading and sharing theirs. I had a great time even though I don’t like the spotlight focused on me.

Monday 11-  Scattered Clouds 73° | 39° a bit of rain.

I did my stretches.

Had breakfast over at my neighbor Kjtel’s house.

Loaded Win7 on my ToughBook’s new SSD drive.

I took the doggies on a long walk.

Tuesday 12- 72° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups and punched the heavybag. 

I took the dogs for a nice long walk over to my neighbor’s house for a visit.

Kelly came by to feed her dogs and we had dinner and watched a couple of episodes of “Dark Matter”.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, went for a night jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

Wednesday 13- 75° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups and punched the heavybag.

I started working on my old trailer out back getting it ready for visitors to stay in.

Thursday 14- 69° | 50°

I did my stretches.

I went to Palm Springs for an appointment to see my doctor- all is well :) 

Friday 15- 69° | 39°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag.

FedEx delivered my new Fender Mustang electric guitar. Very very excited to get one of these because I had one that was made in 1964 that was stolen along with my Fender Bassman Amp back in 74. I also ordered a Bassman Am that’ll be coming on the 20th.

Saturday 16- 60° | 43° rained.

I did my stretches and had to wait for the rain to stop to lift weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag.

My dogs escaped a couple of times. I need to fix my fence so this doesn’t happen again.

Sunday 17-  Scattered Clouds 57° | 42° and windy

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, exercised with the 20lb dumbbells, core trainer, situps and punched the heavybag.

Mended the fence so my critters don’t escape.

Monday 18- 62° | 35°

I did my stretches, core trainer, situps, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.

I worked on mending of the fence that I didn’t finish yesterday.

Tuesday 19- 64° | 35°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag.

Wednesday 20- 66° | 35°

I did my stretches.

Thursday 21- 51° | 30° My cement pond froze telling me it’s the start of Winter!

I did my stretches. I went to Yucca to get a shot over at Desert Oases Medical Center. I did some shopping for supplies at Stater Bros. And when I got home took the doggies for a nice long walk.

Friday 22- 55° | 30°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag.

Saturday 23- 55° | 33°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag.

Took the doggies for a nice long walk.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, went for a night jog with Cassie, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag.

Sunday 24- 63° | 39°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag.

I took Cassie and then Barney each for a run next to the bike up the hill and back.

Linda Harter came by to drop off a few items of Ron’s for safekeeping and say her goodbyes.

Monday 25- 66° | 36°

My friend Kelly has been keeping her dogs here over a month now and coming by to feed them every evening. We usually have dinner and watch an hour of TV together. Today we had Christmas dinner of ham and yams and watched 5 episodes of Mr Robot. She bought two of these VR headgear that you put your cell phone in and ride rollercoasters or float through space- very strange feeling looking through them! 

Tuesday 26- 67° | 42°

I did my stretches, lifted weights, took the doggies with me for a mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, and punched the heavybag for a spell.

Wednesday 27- 73° | 43°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag and rode the bike.

Continued to clean out the trailer. I found four Commodore 64 with two disk drives, one cassette player, one printer, and a bunch of software to run on them. I wonder what I can get for them on Ebay?

Thursday 28- 73° | 42°

I did my stretches.

I went to Yucca Valley to see my doctor and have him sign some papers, but he was in his office in Twentynine and I had to drive all the way back there. I stopped off at Staters Bros. to pick up some supplies for new year’s eve.

I took the doggies for their walk.

Friday 29- 75° | 42°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag and rode the bike. 

On my ride I stopped to visit my neighbor Kjtel for a spell. She had a friend staying with her who is a French Chief and they wouldn’t let me leave until I tried her soup and it was mighty tasty.

Got back home

Saturday 30- 73° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a two mile jog, core trainer, sit-ups, punched the heavybag and rode the bike.

I cooked up some rice for potluck at the community center. I arrived at 3:30 but no one was there and I thought it was called off and nobody told me. It was about 4pm and I was getting ready to leave for home when Dorothy and Dyan’s truck pulled up into the parking lot. I was really happy to see them knowing I wouldn’t have to go home to an empty house and eat only rice for dinner. Folks started showing up and we had about twenty folks there by the time we started munching away at all the yummy dishes of food everyone brought.

Sunday 31- 70° | 43°

I did my stretches.

I was coming home from visiting my neighbor Kjtel on my bike, trying to get through my gate when Cassie and Barney slipped by me and escaped, but came back at 10:30pm... bad dogs good dogs.

I went for my yearly new year’s eve run to up the hill in 2017 and come back down in 2018.

***************** goodbye 2017 and hello to 2018 ****************