230.2 lbs…

… weight gain not a surprise… little exercise yesterday due to rain and intense wind… pasta for dinner… wine for dinner… a precipitous drop from the day before yesterday indicating a water weight shift… still… the broad trend is down…

… the drums of war beat louder… Biden has indicated that he believes Putin has decided to invade Ukraine and will target Kiev… we plunge into the unknown…

… 45 keeps loosing in court…

… John Durham walks a court filing back just a smidge…

… Dinner with M and PW last night… made Bucatini all’ Amatriciana last night… served with an arugula, red onion and orange bell pepper salad… i put a little too much red onion in which also didn’t seem to get less sharp from soaking in cold water…

… PW saying they didn’t understand what Putin gains from a Ukraine invasion… invading and subduing a population that doesn’t want you is bound to be messy, even if your force overwhelms in the early days… i couldn’t think of a good answer… i don’t know what he gains other than a confrontation with NATO and much of the free world…

… yesterday morning H, i and the dogs drove around the island experiencing the storm… i stood for a while at the top of the stairs down to Mohegan beach/bluffs… the wind was blowing so hard the stairs were shaking… elemental… i made some pictures and a couple of videos…

… in an effort to be able to produce an image poem for posting on Sunday, i discovered that images can be rearranged in the photo app that comes with the iPhone… from here until we go home, my efforts will be concentrated in that app, possibly beyond… it is certainly how to keep up while traveling…

229.2 lbs…

… and now the dog wants to go out, have his treats… the wind is howling… it is raining… i don’t want to take him out… can i get away with not doing that?… let’s see if he gives up, even though i am pretty sure that he wont…

… HCR depressing today… pointing out how ready the current Republicans are to pursue authoritarianism… Newt Gingrich rearing his ugly head…

… the dog wins…

… dogs walked and treated… wind not as bad as i was imagining it… pretty gusty, but not knock-me-off-my-feet gusty…

… i have so much anxiety about the country i live in and those who care only about power, not democracy… it is horrible to be going through this now, at the latter stages of my life… to think that in a few years time life could be very different… the country could be very different… all, or mostly, because of the white male patriarchy… i begin to sound like a broken record…

… that my weight is down almost two pounds today is pleasing to say the least… a two pound loss over 24 hours is mostly water… still, its the right direction since i stopped drinking and became more careful about what i am eating…

… last night i grilled a pork chop which H and i split and roasted a colorful medley of sweet potato, orange bell pepper, and red onion (which really should be called purple onion) with fresh garlic cloves… should have added some rosemary to it, which i had… next time…

… i slept well last night… up once to the bathroom… slept seven hours total which is on the max side for me…

231.4 lbs…

… up slightly… was hoping for a little loss, more walking, no alcohol… water weight?…

… the wind was borderline howling last night… supposed to have high winds today, gusts up to 65 miles an hour… knock you off your feet wind… will have to hunker down…

… internet is more spotty than usual… it’s never very good out here… the worst thing about being here…

… i am sitting here looking at an RBG mug M bought for H… i think, damn woman, why didn’t you retire during the Obama admin?… even you regretted that one…

… HCR a bit of a mishmash this morning… about the Canadian truckers… about the Durham investigation… about the right wing echo chamber… about tragic misinformation…

… i am sitting here, trying to think of something non-trivial to write about… nothing comes to mind… just the mundane shit that most of life is composed of… what is wisdom or profundity in a world of mundane shit?…

… i partially worked out my photography workflow for editing a set of images into an image poem… i am presently lacking the ability to reorder the photographs on Lightroom in the phone… an internet search is not helpful… i will figure this one out… need to do some research… maybe there is an app for that…

20220217-01

231.0 lbs

Up at 3:40 AM… pleasantly surprised by my weight… hadn’t been on the scale in a few days, hadn’t been particularly abstemious in what i ate, hadn’t been able to walk much, so was expecting to have gained a bit… instead i lost a bit…

… made a really nice turnip risotto last night… however, bought bacon to put in it and then forgot to… H and i agreed that bacon would have been a great addition… so, i have more turnips and i have bacon, we will revisit the recipe later in the week…

… one interesting thing about the recipe, it was meant to avoid having to stand at the stove and stir for half an hour, instead, using less water and adding an egg yolk at the end for faux creaminess… i thought to myself, what is the point of that? standing and stirring just isn’t that hard… i did it the traditional way, sans egg yolk and faux creaminess…

… as i sit here typing, Rubie cat is lying at my feet, kind of the way a dog might, which Rubie thinks he is… he was also lying on the top step outside our bedroom door when i came out this morning… he seems to crave our company and wishes he could be in the bedroom with us… dogs don’t generally permit it though… they chase him off immediately…

… full moon getting ready to set in the west… which makes me think of the series “For All Mankind”… i am not 100% on board with the conceit of the series, which is that the Russians won the race to the moon and that there ensued a much more lively moon exploration and colonization program with astronauts coming and going at regular intervals and a moon base that supports tens of individuals rotating to work on the moon… what is very good about the show is the exploration and depiction of the interactions of humans under normal and not so normal life stress conditions… very well written and acted… in particular, they seem to have grief and reaction to trauma down in a very realistic way…

… the routines are settling back in place, albeit their Block Island place… the dogs can’t just be let out the back door, they have to be leashed and taken out… i have to work on my iPhone, rather than my desktop computer… everything being done on the iPhone… the challenge will be when i attempt to produce a long form post (less difficult) and an image poem (more difficult) this weekend…

… H has started their bread baking operation again… they are doing sourdough without their stand mixer and proofing box… more rustic, requiring more intuitive skill… it looks like it is going well… i will need to clean out the cast iron combo cooker before i leave for my walk as they will want to use it while i am out walking…

… tried to walk on Dickens Farm Preserve yesterday morning but a sign indicated that this week, during the week, hunting is allowed… i didn’t hear any shooting but one does not tempt fate, even with blazing bright orange on their bodies, which i did not have… so, i will be contained to beach, roads and downtown this week and save the nature preserves for next week…

… J has booked tickets to Florida in early June so that C does not have to be alone for their birthday and anniversary… that’s a good thing though i get concerned with what they might talk C in to our out of while they are there… J has nothing but good intentions but she can be intense…

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