W O W...

Its Just a Little Windy Here...

Can You Bowl Like This?

AG Barr at work...

Economic Forecasting

According to a report from FOX NEWS this morning, our economy will not completely rebound from the COVID-19 Pandemic until the END OF 2021... that's almost 20 months from now...  much can happen during the next 20 months...  and, if it takes these next 20 months, many of our financial investments will become substantially damaged even when and after the economy does, in fact, rebound.

During my working career, I never much gave a rat's ass to whether investment increased or decreased as I was just concerned about my own salary and how much money I was able to save...  and, while that may seem very narrow minded on my behalf, the money I saved never made it into the stock market...   I based all my goals on non-interest bearing accounts which always meant that they would always do a little bit better than my predictions.

Now that I am taking money out of my accounts, I still do not plan for interest earned, but on a simple reduction of the funds and how long those funds will last.  Interest will only delay the inevitable...  that is to say, the depletion of the account.

Right now, those monies will pay our bills until both of us have reached the age of 97 regardless of the interest earned...  so, economic forecasting is of minimal concern to us and our livelihood.

ASSIGNING BLAME

Americans are a fickle group of people and perhaps their diversity makes the problem worse but no matter what happens, Americans want to blame someone other than themselves...

NO ONE WANTS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS...  and, if they ever do take responsibility it is always down played as if it never really mattered; whereas, when they can blame someone else, it is the worst situation since slavery.  And, gender does not seem to play a big role in this behavior as it happens equally among males as well as females.

We are a PASS THE BUCK generation...  which, in my humble and not thoroughly vetted opinion actually means very little.  And, why do I downgrade myself?  Because, I am NOBODY...  or, what the Beatles wrote in their song, NOWHERE MAN...  opinions are only valid in this country when they come from people who are overly educated and WELL KNOWN or are in POWERFUL POSITIONS, otherwise we ignore them outright.

Clouds in a pool

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On the road again...

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Find the force hon... not the rhythms...

It's about rhythms...

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Sunday Evening

Perfect pool size but without a deck surrounding it...

I spent most of the morning cleaning out the pool on waste and then putting more water into it so reduce the levels chlorine...  it would appear that when we closed the pool up for the winter, we put in more chlorine than was necessary; however, when we had a water checked, it was perfect for the first time in over 10 years other than high chlorine levels which is relative inexpensive to adjust.  In the past, we have spent around $150 to get our pool balanced.  Not sure what we did this time but it worked.

The rest of the day was spent working on my various blogs:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• My Cancer Odyssey
• A Bipolar Scorpion
• Reflections:  White Scorpion
  

Tomorrow, I will be replacing some of the decking on our deck outside which is not bad since it has lasted over 10 years...  I would say of the 150+ boards, replacing about 20 of them is not bad after ten years of wear and tear and sunlight.  Although, we have made a point of staining the deck about every 3 years.

Right now, while I am composing this post, I am looking at a ROKU Aquarium Screen on our 50" Panasonic flat screen that is one of the free bonus features that comes with the ROKU device once it is purchased.  I believe it was about $50 but we get just about everything that Cable offers and for $10 and $5 each month we can subscribe to Netflix and Hulu and get everything that Cable Offers that we want to watch plus more and it is a hell of a lot cheaper

Shower With Me Hon...

Your Morning Coffee

Praying

In order to pray, one must first presuppose that there is someone to whom to pray and second one
must believe that one's prayers will be answered, otherwise praying is a waste-of-time...  of course, this is my opinion.

In my mind, I BELIEVE very strongly that there is a CREATOR whether that CREATOR has the name of God or Allah or Yahweh or HaShem or Shiva or Akal Murat...  it does not really matter to me because there is still a CREATOR.  And, the fact that there are so many names for this CREATOR does not mean that some beliefs are wrong while others are right...  it just means that OUR CREATOR gave different people what they needed at the time to believe in a CREATOR...  and most importantly, life after death exists in all beliefs even though the path getting to that life after death may be different...

Since this has been established...  even though it may not be completely accepted...  let/s move on to the topic of prayer.

HOW WE CURRENTLY PRAY IS WRONG...

Every time I attend a formal Church service on Sunday, I realize this and because we pray wrong in Church leaves me to believe that the leaders of the Church do not really understand or follow the teachings of the BIBLE..

In Christianity, Jesus told us that when we pray to HIS FATHER, do so this way:

And yet, all ministers, pastors, priests recite or ad lib their own prayers asking God to provide them will everything under the sun except for maybe repairs on the kitchen sink...  for me, this is wrong...  We should not ask for anything other than that HIS WILL BE DONE...

My Spiritual Affiliations

A Sunday Morning Reflection
When I had experienced my first 18 months of life outside my mother's womb, my parents took me (unwillingly or basically without my knowledge and.or permission) to the United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia to be baptized as a Christian.  However, before that event, my parents had made the decision (again without my permission) to have me circumcised upon birth, their first act of forcing me to become a Christian.

Now...  don't get me wrong, I am glad that I am and was raised a Christian, but the fact remains that it was all done without my permission...  actually, my birth and conception took place without my permission as well... 

I logically understand why I was baptized but I do not logically understand why I was born and given life...
WHY ME?
WHY THESE PARENTS?
WHY THIS LOCATION?

When I was about 50 years old (give or take as I recall) I decided to have myself baptized again and the minister I chose for this activity was someone I respected and with whom I had had numerous religious and spiritual conversations and he understood and respected my need to question.  However, this time and not because of any coincidence, this minister was of the Southern Baptist Belief...  a belief that I did not totally accept even though I respected him.  It was a full immersion baptism whereas my first was a sprinkling of HOLY WATER on the head.

I never understood how that water was made HOLY but at the time it was not that important to me...

SO...  am I a Methodist, a United Methodist, or a Baptist, or a Southern Baptist???

MORNING COFFEE

After taking a piss, giving the cats their morning treat, I put a pod in the Bunn and in 30 seconds I have my first cup of morning coffee...  but before I taste the first hot sip, I pour in 2 teaspoons of Sugar Free Cappuccino Mix, stirring it until it dissolves...  THEN, my first sip...  then another and another and another until, I need to put another pod in the Bunn and repeat the process...

Thank you for these hon...

My back hurts hon...

K I S S I N G

Short cut?

Sh

Saturday Evening in he Valley

It is not quite 8:00 pm in the Valley and there is just as much light outside now as there was this morning at 8:00 am and the temperature is hovering around 80 degrees with very little humidity at all in the air.  You can see the failing sun off in the distance just above the horizon from our screened in porch and can look directly at it without wearing sun glasses.  This is one of the best times of the day for me as it is mostly quiet, warm to the touch, and sitting outside is relaxing in its solitude and solace from an even lazier day when an afternoon nap will not keep me from sleep in about 3 hours from now.

Saturdays are typically a day off from work for those who have a Monday through Friday work schedule and these days are typically used to do those things around the house that could not be done during the workday after coming home...  but since many people are not working, these things now get done during the week so Saturdays
typically are days of doing nothing.

This Pandemic has changed everyone's lives and while many people are concerned about a loss of income and a falling stock market for those who have investments like myself, financial worries by many are very popular these days...  but, not for me...  because if I were to die today, we have enough money saved (including the sale of the house) to pay for my wife's expenses (assuming they are typical and/or moderate) for another 25-30 years taking her to 92-97...  which should be long enough.  However, if I were to live for another 10 years, we would have additional dividends from our investment to cover those same expenses without selling the house.

This Saturday evening in the Valley, I am just as peaceful as the Valley itself.

Simply Beautiful...

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Move Over Slick...

Since you're here...

Fat Little Cats

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My Mother Loved Daisies

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.

We're Coming For You Joe...

Not Here...

L I B