Saturday: Before Noon

SATURDAY Morning👉 the sun is shinning in the Tennessee Valley of East Tennessee... and, I am once again able to experience another day above ground...  at 73 years of age, another day above ground is a good day.  My morning begin with me giving our 3 cats their morning treats and then I take the little white pill prescribed by my Oncologist for my thyroid...  my thyroid got messed up because of my on-going chemo treatments which is beginning its 14th year.

Once the cats have been given their treat and their bowls filled up with food, I make myself a cup of coffee with a coffee pod and sit in my recliner to watch FOX NEWS...  It is typically around 8:00/8:30 am...  Prior to 2015, I was keyed into watching CNN or CBS News in the morning, but after going to the local gym where FOX NEWS was being televised, I quickly realized that CNN and/or CBS was NOT REPORTING all the news.

After watching FOX NEWS at home and switching back and forth between CNN, CBS, and Fox, I came to the realization that the conservative points-of-view were not just being overlooked but they were being distorted in favor of the liberal points-of-view.

I was a DIEHARD liberal until I went to Graduate School and earned an MBA...  then, I became a conservative liberal with a focus on eliminating debt and balancing the budget.

Unfortunately and beginning with the Trump Administration, mainstream media simply did not publish news that they DETERMINED they did not want to general public to know...  and, that mentality bothered me more than the bullshit that Trump was doing.

Being retired...  one day is no more different than any other day...  unless, there is a doctor's appointment scheduled and then I have to shower/shave and leave the house.  If there is no appointment, then my days are typically spent inside the house unless I take a notion to get in the hot tub outside.

BUT...  this is Saturday and I know that I am going nowhere today...  so, I will drink coffee for 2-3 hours before deciding that there is something else I need/want to do.  However, I will turn the channel once CAVUTO comes on...  as I just don't like to listen to him nor do I like his personality in general.

Typically, I start watching the HISTORY channel or the FOOD channel for the rest of the morning as I continue drink a few more cups of coffee.  It bothers me that I have to also watch STUPID COMMERCIALS that target Americans with an 8th grade mentality...  but, this is how America sells its products...  and, I guess is a NECESSARY EVIL.

Once my morning comes to a close, I eat a modest lunch and then begin preparing my blogs by first preparing a list of potential topics that I want to research...  I also take a looksee at previous lists that I prepared as well.  Daily Journals that I have been keeping for over ten years is where I write these lists and keep my notes for other topics that have been previously researched.  These journals are stored in a filing cabinet in the garage.

What's interesting about this Saturday is that the sun is out and this weekends represents the being of a 30 warming trend according to the weather channel forecasts.  Cold weather in the Valley is all but OVER...

Saturday Morning in the Valley

As mentioned before, I am living in the Valley of East Tennessee nestled between the Great Smokey Mountain on one side and the Cumberland Plateau on the other side which prevents, at least most of the time, bad weather from entering our area unless it comes up from the Gulf of Mexico.  We get more rain than snow or sleet and seldom does it remain in the lower 30's for more than a week or two during our brief winters; although, Spring is no longer a gradual transition for us and quite often are there periods of Blackberry Winters lasting for a few days in our area.  However and generally speaking, the climate is damn near perfect for someone like me who can no longer tolerate the moist cold weather or the humidity of the hot summers.

During our first 5 years of retirement, we traveled somewhat every other month, sometimes every month but recently and not because of COVID-19 and the Pandemic have curtailed our traveling but because we have had some bad experiences in international airports with our luggage and the logistics of finding the right location that it has become a hassle for us and taken away most of the enjoyment...  plus, 8-10 hours in an airplane is rough on our bodies and passing through many time zones has been difficult for us to adjust on either side of our destinations.

SO...  in the Valley we remain... in our modest home...  1200 square feet upstairs and 1200 square feet downstairs with a weirdly measured acre lot, 4 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, open concept kitchen dinning and living room, and exercise room, den, and 3 garages with a screened in back porch and a front porch that spans the length of the house.  In the backyard is an above ground 28 foot round pool that is 12 years old with minimal signs of wear and tear.  A wooden deck surrounds the pool with enough extra space for several lounge chairs and a 12' X 12' gazebo and a Hot Springs 12 year old hot tub near the shady side house wall.  Under the screened in back porch is an enclosed 12' X 15' storage space with siding.

My wife and I and our 3 cats are comfortable and want for nothing except maybe less space to have to keep clean as we have been throwing stuff away about every quarter now that we don't need in case we ever get the nerve to sell this house and move into a smaller one that is more suitable to our needs and that is only on one floor because eventually we will not want to go up and down any stairs.

Saturday morning in the Tennessee Valley is like any other morning in the Valley for us now that we are retired.  Our cats wake us up around 6:00 am each morning for a treat and after returning to bed (we alternate who gives the treat) we continue to sleep for another 2 hours or so...  coffee for me and it varies for my wife from hot chocolate to juice to diet Pepsi while we check our messages on the internet and as I post articles and other stuff on my blogs, she surfs the internet for all sorts of things like clothes, vacation deal, items for the house, deals on movie tickets, to health issues as we both listen indirectly to FOX NEWS on cable....  our cats have gone back to sleep.