11-196 (14/7/24) -- Pain Therapy

Today I had very sore neck and shoulder. A heating pad was applied even when it is still excessively hot and humid. Heat helped to relax some of the spasms and an analgesic helped with the pain, too. So, a slower day than planned -- as in less done than desired. <sigh> Shoulder and neck tension often result from stress and anxiety. Gee -- I wonder where that comes from? <sigh> It can be the body response as it prepares to face a perceived physical threat -- getting ready to fight or flee. 

Out in the patio mini-garden, one of the cherry tomatoes is beginning to change colour! So very cool. There are many more that are green and growing so will not change colour for a little bit longer. Still many flowers. The three types of basil look good. We have used the fresh leaves in making sauce, margarita pizza and caprese salad. Very yummy. I love making a chiffonade cut with the basil. This method stacks several whole leaves and then rolls them tightly.. Cuts are made at a right angle to the roll, resulting in long very narrow strips of the herb. I prefer this process over chopping since it releases the flavour and leaves larger pieces when chewing. Give it a try if you haven't already. Today I used it for caprese and a veggie pizza. Tending the plants and cooking seemed to help with the pain a bit. 

I chose a song for the title, which states how I feel today. Keep safe. Enjoy! 

Haven't got Time for the Pain -- Carley Simon

11-195 (13/7/24) -- Doing the Math

Another Saturday come and gone. This one was hot again but humidity feels slightly less than it has been -- still there, but I could breathe when I tended the patio garden. I also did the requisite weekend laundry. <smile>  

Today, I was able to connect virtually with the high school reunion just as everyone was getting settled for the catered dinner. It was such fun to see people and get to say hello to some of them via video feed. Now, none of my degrees is in math, so I'm convinced that someone did the math wrong when it comes to how long ago we graduated <grin>. When I looked at all the faces, I recognized many, but there were several old people that didn't look familiar at all. It is possible that some of those folks were the plus-ones for graduates. Now, when I look in the mirror, I don't see an old person. Interesting that. But seeing a room full of us, made me reconsider my conviction that the reunion year was not off by a decade or two. <smile>  

Thirty-nine years ago on this date, LiveAID began in London and Philadelphia. It was a huge charity concert held on two continents and broadcast across the globe. Phil Collins performed in London and then caught the Concord and performed later in Philadelphia. Another first. A great sum of money was donated to address the famine in Ethiopia in 1985. Geldof spear-headed the event and the delivery of food stuffs to northern Ethiopia.  The song for the day comes from that globally transmitted concert.  Also, I'd suggest watching the full session by Queen -- Freddie at his best and one of their last major performances.

Let it Be -- Paul McCartney ft. David Bowie, Alison Moyet, Pete Townsend, & Bob Geldof 

 

11-194 (12/7/24) -- Milestone Years

I realized late last night that yesterday marked one year living in the new place. Wow! I still have nothing on the walls and boxes left to unpack and others to repack for storage in garage. There is no air conditioning in the garage, but the front room still needs some attention so I guess I start there. <sigh> 

I watched a live feed from my high school reunion. I didn't get there due to the eye procedure done this week. Tonight was the meet and greet night. Two poems written for the event were read by the authors. Another classmate read a list of people from our year who are no longer with us. They had notes from some of the group who couldn't attend that were out for people to read. Many photos have been posted to the reunion site. All of this helps me to feel a part of the process even though from a long distance. 

I decided to chose a song from back in the day to post here today. This was not an easy task. I ended up choosing a random number and matching it to a song from a lengthy listing. Keep safe. Enjoy! 

Rebel, Rebel -- David Bowie

11-193 (11/7/24) -- Tropical Air

The heat and humidity continue. Today, thought, much cloud cover was present --cloudy, but warm and humid still. By evening, rain began. Heavier rain will arrive into the later evening with lighter rain overnight. This system comes from the remaining energy from Beryl. That certainly explains the tropical feel to the air. 

I watched a couple of movies and tried to do some further computer work -- little actually accomplished on that front. I felt a bit down today, so couldn't get myself into the swing of things that need to be done and that I'd like to do. A meeting was rescheduled from tomorrow into next week, so I could try to tackle the list of things then. 

I chose a song to share part of which floated around in my head this week. Keep safe. Enjoy! 

Heat Wave -- Martha and the Vandellas

 

11-192 (10/7//24) -- Mysterious Evening

May be sounding like a stuck record, but it is hot and humid again. I made a brief outing to grocery store for a few items. In the afternoon, I worked with the laptop screen to do some writing but stopped before eyes got too tired. There is more clarity of vision today, too. 

This evening I went to a play with friends. It was an innovative story with modern day female characters taking on Sherlock Holmes sleuthing. Excellent character development and dialogue were presented from playwright and delivered by the four actors. It was a little long and had a central portion that seemed a bit lost in the weeds. With some judicious editing, this could be tighter. Overall, there were many laughs -- something I needed today. 

The song shared today deals with mystery -- fitting well with the play this evening. Stay safe. Enjoy! 

Magical Mystery Tour -- The Beatles

11-191 (9/7/24) -- Heat Advisory

Well, it was hotter today than yesterday and tomorrow is to be even hotter. I guess that makes this region one of the areas where the heat advisory will be longer than two days <sigh>. It cools reasonably overnight, but remains quite humid. I spent the day searching for supporting research articles for the paper revisions, clearing emails, and rested eyes a bit. Things are still a bit blurry, but better than yesterday. 

The heat warning continues today. It feels hotter than yesterday. The direct sun is hot and strong. No clouds to block it momentarily. The humidity makes the feel like temperature nearly unbearable. The heat pump inside helps a lot. 

A few lines from a song came to mind today. Keep safe. Enjoy!

Heat Wave -- Ella Fitzgerald

11-190 (8/7/24) -- Thunder & Lasers

Today I had a procedure done. Lasers in eyes feels rather counter-intuitive. The ophthalmologist said that things should get clearer over the next couple of days. Today was nice and  sunny until heading home when we had 10-15 minutes of rain -- major rain that sounded like hail with the huge drops. Thankfully, it was a localized thunderstorm cell. It was hot and humid as we drove away from Halifax, which is on the ocean and thus a bit cooler. As we headed home through the hill, temperatures climbed and the humidity grew. The heat advisory should be in place for another day and maybe two days in 'some areas' -- forecasters couldn't be more specific as to where. 

A line from a song chorus came to mind when we encountered the rain and saw thunder storm clouds off in the distance as we drove home. I loved this album. <smile> Keep safe. Enjoy! 

Dreams -- Fleetwood Mac