Beware The Ides Of March...

...it could <ruin your whole day>.  

Hopefully you avoided traitorous acquaintances and instead experienced a pleasant early spring morning...

...that you appreciated and used wisely:

Yeah; like that.

I've actually walked several rounds on Ryan's course this past week and it's been quite pleasant after a long winter layoff.

Haven't put any of the flags or signs in place yet - we've still a ways to go before Old Man Winter is chased back into his hole - but won't be too long now.

I mentioned to a friend from work that I recently earned 49 cents of commission because someone in Australia read my Time Slip Island novella...

...on the Amazon Kindle Unlimited program.

A rare occurrence, this was an exciting moment in my life as you might imagine; it meant I could throw away 5 bottles...

...I otherwise would have had to return for deposit.

Don't know about you, but that's the kind of freedom in life for which I'm searching:

To believe in what can be (i.e., throwing pointless stuff away)...

...unburdened by has beens (i.e., so I don't have to deal with them).

I just might run for president some day.

As we approach St. Patrick's Day I've noticed a growing infestation of Irish Gnomes:

he actually bit my hand as I tried to answer the phone...

...and they seem to have a natural camouflage...

...allowing them to blend in with their surroundings.

not positive how they got here but I can see it's time to round up the usual suspect and question her closely re: recent Aldi purchases.

I say we 23 Skidoo quick-a-minute before things get even more out of hand than they are already:

speaking of natural camouflage...

...meet Screech the owl, a resident of Larry's folks' tree.

Kitty lounging in the courtyard

Karen found that fountain, now gracing the courtyard, for $15 at an estate sale

the recent "Blood Moon"...picture taken by a friend of Larry's using her cellphone through her telescope

Saw a T-shirt the other day that opined "Inside every Old Man is a Young Buck wondering what the heck happened".

This is a true sentiment and one that should give us pause.

Moses wrote in Psalm 90..."the days of our years are three score and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly away".

70 or 80 is about what we get before we shuffle off this mortal coil.

It can be tough to quantify that in an impactful way, so think of this:

If you take your 80 years and put it in terms of one day of consciousness - when you rise at 6 am and fall into bed at midnight - then every 13.5 minutes of your conscious day is 1 year of your life on earth.

I'm 68 as I write this, so for me it's 9:20 pm.  The clock will only tick for another 2 hours and 40 minutes, and then my day is done.

My son Ryan's day ended abruptly at 3 pm; he didn't get those last 9 hours.

On the other hand, Karen's grandmother hung around til 4:30 am the next morning; she had 4 and half more hours than normal.

What time is it for you?

Of course we don't really know; only God knows that.

But we do know how we're to spend the time He's granted us here on earth:

later, mcm fans...

E.P.W.S.

 

...the greatest advertising slogan ever invented.  

The above is an indoor putting green I bought a year ago.  It's basically a few boards cobbled together and some green fabric.

You putt on the fabric, hopefully drop the golf ball in one of the 2 holes, and it's returned to you.

It's completely analog - no power source, no internet connection, no virtual reality - which means you actually have to do something.

Physical.

In the real world.

This automatically excludes pretty much everyone born after 1990 - 

"Do I really want to shell out my hard earned simoleans for something you don't even turn on?"

- so the manufacturer wanted to put some compelling advertising on the package to entice the modern buyer.

Deep in thought, caught on the horns of a dilemma, the punter suddenly spots the clincher, tucked away in the upper right corner of the package:

EPWS...that's it!

[Advertisers know "environment" has become one of those unassailable sacred cows against which no argument can succeed.

They could have also gone with "climate", but that particular trigger word comes with some scary baggage...

...so "environmental protection" it is!]

At first blush it might seem to be a non sequitur, a completely unrelated statement as pertains to putting greens.

My advice:  don't break your brain trying to understand all the scientific intricacies of how this wood and cloth contraption protects the environment, or even how it can achieve that noble goal sans stink.

The key to your enlightenment is acceptance.

In the absence of intellectual comprehension, it becomes as an article of faith:

"This putting green does in fact protect the environment diligently, faithfully, odorlessly and for that we should give our thanks (and $$s)."

Henceforth, remember...when you need to sway the stubbornly skeptical with an argument so ingenious it's impervious to rebuttal:

ESWP.

No wait, that's ESPW.  Dang it!  EPSW?

Ah forget it; you know I mean.

Week #1 of the Unhappy Man diet...

...is in the books, and Karen reminded me this is our 12th year in a row of willfully subjecting ourselves to this ritual torture.

Weighed in at 211 and managed to shed 5 lbs without resorting to any form of amputation or surgery.

But let's face it...the 1st week is always the easiest.

You've set your mind to the task at hand, commitment is high, determination has not yet been buffeted by the harsh winds of deprivation and your certain collision with The Wall is yet future.

So while we may not have breezed through it, we held our own, we're still standing.

And this year we have another arrow in our quiver with which to fight the enemy:  <Walkfit>

We didn't sign up for anything just reviewed the type of exercises they do from a youtube video, and adopted some of them for our own use.

So far this daily workout routine has been ok and seems to be helping.

In my younger days I would have laughed to scorn...

...anyone touting this as a "real" workout.

Marching?  Step back punches?  Knee taps?  Shade pulldowns?

Puh-leez.

However, as I near the close of my 7th decade topside of planet earth, there's no denying my youth has fled like a coward before the schoolyard bully of advancing years.

Sadly, as it hit the exit it took with it those glorious days of 2 hour weight lifting workouts.

Nowadays I settle for an exercise bike and a Total Gym, so this Walkfit program suits us pretty well.

And it’s not as bad as those “walking like a dork” routines from the 80’s when people swung their arms wildly as they double timed it down your sidewalk -

"Mommy, what are they doing?"

"Never mind sweetie, just don't make eye contact."

- but I'm afraid it does shade itself under the same family tree.

As long as no one sees us doing it, I think we'll be okay.

It's bad enough our cats are witnesses - I can tell they’re questioning our position in the pecking order - but so far they haven't told anyone.

We hope.

Before you parachute to safety from the living heckhole that is the AMC, you still have to level up on 23 Skidoo...

that's Ukraine's ambassador Oksana Markarova wishing for a different life as Zelenskyy sabotages his countrymen and proves he's as pointless as that extra "y" in his last name.  <way to listen to the dems, Z!>

I can dream, can't I?

it's been a few years so we decided to re-watch all of the Downton Abbey seasons.  look at that cast of characters!  writer / creator Julian Fellowes endowed each with their own unique history and personality, then seamlessly blended them all together into one overarching, coherent story...amazing.

karen snapped this pic of an early march sunrise while herding cats this week. "are you EVER going to take down the Christmas lights??"  there.  I said it for you.

it looks cold because it is - yes, that's ice on the little pond.  desperate men, doncha know.  but hey, the snow's gone...for now, anyway.

I'm reading through Ecclesiastes in my devotions at the moment.

I firmly believe God included it in His Word as a pointed warning of what life is without "God sense":

A confusing, repetitive, contradictory existence "under the sun".

It's all horizontal, no vertical relationship.

I once heard an atheist college professor claim this was the only book of the Bible he actually understood, and that makes perfect sense.

It's a completely accurate rendering of The Preacher's thought process as he despairs over the pointlessness of achievement, success, wealth, power.

"Vanity of vanities," he laments cynically, "all is vanity!"

Throughout his "trial and error" life journey The Preacher records his observations, and he learns.

By the end of this travelogue - which God in His wisdom preserved for our benefit - The Preacher finally rises above his "life under the sun", "vanity of vanities" limitations and arrives at his destination:

Truth.

later, mcm fans...

May Not Look Like Much...

 

...but in my world, this is a glorious sight.  

Ain't pretty, but after a long winter that's a little bit o' paradise right there.

In no time I'll be outside swinging my hickories and embarrassing myself again.

too soon?

Can't wait.

in honor of it being March 1st, the AMC is officially changing seasons.  don't care what anyone says, <it's spring!>  no, really; it is.

Had a minor setback with my wooden subset / ringer box for my candlestick phone:

After lots of tinkering and advice from a couple of antique phone enthusiasts, we've finally concluded it's simply the 100+ year old wiring/components:

One of the guys I've been talking to is currently in Arizona for the winter but asked me to send him the subset when he's back home in April.

The bells work, but the induction coil and/or the condenser could be suspect.

I may just try replacing the 9 old wires with new and see what happens.

Until then I'm back to my metal subset/ringer box...

gotta admit, that polished black bakelite and metal is a classy look

...which works fine.

I've had an increasingly ominous feeling of nameless disquietude creeping over me for the last couple of months.

Aye, it's an ill wind that's been a-blowin' and today I finally realized why:

Yep, it's almost time for the Unhappy Man Dreaded Diet, slated to begin on Monday.

Not positive what my starting point will be - I still have a couple of days to cram moon pies and cream puffs down my gullet but I'm predicting somewhere around 212 lbs.

And as usual, the goal is to lose 15 lbs or so.

I'm hoping for rapid success, because past experience has shown it doesn't take too long before Unhappy Man morphs into...

"Hey!  I'm getting sick of this diet!"
- I.M. Yelling

...followed shortly thereafter by...

"That's it, I'm having a cheeseburger and pity the fool that tries to stop me!"
- Angry Man

Yeah, that guy.

Not much shakin' in the 23 Skidoo department this week, to wit:

starting to break winter's iron grip

there's normally a flagpole in the middle of that shot, but 50+ mph winds caused me to remove it for now

Ol' Man Winter may have taken one on the chin, but it's def still heating season

just because I like it

part of Karen's Crocus Hall teapot collection

Even though March is <nulla magna quatit>, it's really nice to finally be done with February.

We're still at least a month away from consistently nicer weather, but soon we'll be enjoying longer days and warmer temps.

Plus March is also the namesake month for a <distant relative> of mine...

...though as a general rule we don't speak of him.

Now, as you rush the exits, please to ponder this eternal truth:

later, mcm fans...