karmicdragonfly: (Default)
The nerdy side of me has just come all the way out during my time at home. For example, I have been reviewing Latin lessons online to see how much I remember from middle school! I mean, I have always enjoyed languages, but it even surprises me that I'm doing this!


Yesterday, I oiled the bike chain, put air in the tires, lubed the pedals, etc. It begs the question of exactly why I did that. Will I actually ride the bike soon?


karmicdragonfly: (Default)
Few pics from the Moonlight Ride last night --
Moonlight Bike Ride

Moonlight Bike Ride

Moonlight Bike Ride


Friend and I went down to the river today. He's been learning to play the ukulele, so he brought it along so he could strum it while we were walking along the trail. We found some pawpaws for him to try later -- his comment was that although they are not bad, they definitely have their own taste, lol!


Ice cream and a walk around with another friend made for a pleasant weekend!


Drove a few minutes out of town to a historical site -- the Polegreen Church -- it's a stick representation of the dimensions of the original church. I find the shape interesting.
Polegreen "Ghost" church
karmicdragonfly: (Default)
Got another small bike ride in this morning! It was easier today, so I'm getting stronger. It's amazing how much strength I have lost in the past few years of sloth!

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Also been working around the house -- I got a guy to re-hang a window on the stair landing -- it's a really nice big window that I have been unable to open for years and years because both cords are broken. It was on my list to fix when I first bought the house -- I remember that I even looked up the process for taking the window out and opening up the space where the weights are in order to re-hang the sash -- but I never got around to actually fixing it. So I paid someone to fix both the window and a tread on the stair. #oldhouse

It's really nice to lift that window now! Since he left, I've been touching up trim around the window. I also decided the stain he used on the tread was too light, so I have re-stained slightly darker, and added polyurethane this morning.

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I've been sleeping much better since I gave my notice at work!

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Had a less than satisfactory dinner with a friend the other night. He's really grumpy because his job is stressing him out so much. And I totally get it! His job stress is impacting his relationships, and I wonder if he knows that.

Had a friend over for wine a couple nights ago, which was pleasant as usual.

And I'll be doing the same thing with another guy Monday...I say 'guy' instead of 'friend' because I don't really know his status with me. He's someone I use to fuck around with, and that didn't work out well. But somehow we have kept in touch for intermittent wine and whiskey nights now and again.

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Had an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in the garden out front yesterday -- she was there for several hours feeding on the cone flowers! I say "she" because females are the only ones who have a strip of iridescent blue at the end of their hind wings.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (female) on a Coneflower

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I heard the first cicadas buzzing today -- a very 'summer' here and a sound I look forward to!

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Totally applying the 'brunch rule' today -- having wine on the porch very early, lol! I wonder if my neighbors think I'm a lush, lol. Not that I would care about them, nor would I necessarily really disagree!

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All in all, it was a pleasant week and weekend!
karmicdragonfly: (Default)
It's been a long time since I have ridden a bike in the rain! I haven't been riding much this year -- it's always raining! But I've been missing it a lot!

Today, I was bound and determined to ride just a little, so while I was having breakfast, I checked Accuweather -- "No precipitation for next 120 minutes" -- great! I get dressed, get some air in the tires and a water bottle full...and as I was leaving, I check Accuweather again -- "Rain starting in 15 minutes" What, lol???

"Light" rain it said. LIGHT rain, lol...so I went out, knowing that I might get a bit wet. Well, it rained harder than "light", and I came home sopping wet...I hadn't ridden in the rain in years, so it was sort of fun! I cut the ride short and only rode about 7 miles, but it was nice to be on the bike again!


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It's nearly Fall, so I'm getting the last of the veggies from the garden -- tomatoes and bell peppers. The kind of bell pepper that I grow turns brown ("chocolate bell pepper") -- it doesn't change the taste.




I am also prepping 'the girls' with new batteries -- these are my normal Halloween decorations.


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There have been a few butterflies in the garden lately - this Red Spotted Purple was out a few days ago --
Red Spotted Purple on Butterfly Bush

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Lucky for us, Hurricane Florence was pushed more south for landfall, so we only got cloudy showers from it. "She" is supposed to turn and go northwest, but it seems only more rainy showers for us. Again....we are lucky in that regard. I believe I have a roof leak, based on the unpleasant, musty smell in my bedroom at home, so I have called a roofer to come and inspect the roof.

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Book club was enjoyable this past week...I did have an interesting situation that has stuck with me.

When we were talking about the book, there was discussion of which actors and actresses would be best to play the part if there were to be a screen play. Some of the actors and actresses were unfamiliar to me, so I would search for them and find a picture online, then I would show the group to make sure this was the right person.

During the discussion, one of the guys mentioned that he hated that I was doing that because each time I searched for a name and showed the picture, it would bring the conversation to a close...lol....that surprised me. I mean, what else would you do but look up stuff online?

It wasn't a bad comment or situation or anything -- just surprised me that 'googling' wasn't just standard operating procedure when you're having a conversation, lol! Seriously, why would you NOT search, if you don't know who that person is???

Now don't get me wrong...I do sometimes find myself in situations where someone uses a phone or laptop while I'm talking to them, and it's completely frustrating. There is a friend who visits who will get lost in his phone or laptop for minutes at a time...to the detriment of conversation -- and I really find that frustrating. Now that I think of it, maybe I'll turn off my WIFI the next time he does that since I can control my WIFI from my phone, lol...

But that was not this situation at book club - in this case I, in-my-not-so-humble-opinion, was contributing to the conversation, lol!

Speaking of which, I need to begin reading the next book -- I put less time to reading now, and reading is harder to do since I have been trained to 'skim' online...a friend and I had a related discussion the other night. I was finding words in Wikipedia which I considered old and too formal for Wikipedia -- I thought Wiki entries should be written at a 7th - 8th grade level...and some of the words I was finding in articles would NOT be appropriate for that level. He disagreed, but seriously, when was the last time you said or wrote 'virtuosic'??? It's a fine word, but I think our language is changing, and those sorts of 'odd' words slow my reading down.

That reminds me that I need to watch the movie "Idiocracy"...lol

karmicdragonfly: (Default)
This morning I went down to the river to pick up a few pawpaws. I think that some of these were not quite ready to harvest, but I mostly picked up the ones that had already fallen - some are very green.




The one to the right above looked like it might actually be past ripe, but when I cut it open, it was pretty tasty! Maybe just a smidge past, but definitely sweet, juicy and good!


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The cherry tomatoes in my garden are definitely coming in fast now! I love them, but I'm having trouble eating so many! I wonder if I should make some tomato sauce with these....


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Hung out for lunch and the museum with Nh yesterday. It was very pleasant excursion!
Stopped by the VMFA on way back from lunch today.

He snapped a pic of me to get me back for another similar pic I had taken of him a few month ago. I actually like this pic fine, lol!


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The mural below is from the other night when Deege and I had dinner. It pretty well describes my emotional state regarding our current politics!
My reaction to current politics.  Mural located in the Fan District.

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The Moonlight ride went was last night -- I haven't ridden in a few years, and I think there seems to have been fewer riders the last couple years. This kid was totally hamming it up -- standing up off the seat!
Moonlight Ride

This one I did as a black and white because she has very classic Spanish/Roman/Aquiline features. I thought the b&w looked good --
Moonlight Ride

This one is a sweet pic. It appears to be a dad taking a disabled child on a ride.
Moonlight Ride

There were plenty of lights, but only a few full featured 'costumes' (?) for the bikes!
Moonlight Ride

Today sitting on the porch enjoying the great weather and, of course, sipping a bit of wine.
karmicdragonfly: (Default)
This makes 3 rides this month. And I can see the mileage and average starting to go up.




Although the mileage is NOTHING like in February of 2011, still not bad compared to most Februaries..


Definitely a good start!

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"O seguro morreu de velho, mas o desconfiado ainda está vivo." -- "The safe one died of old age, but the suspicious one is still living."