These are a few of My Favorite Things - 1/30/24

I was thinking this morning that the postings on this blog span 20 plus years of my life.  That's a long time.

These are some of my favorite things today:

Hikes through the forest on rainy, misty days.

 

An hour of light sleep in the morning after waking up to let dawg out.

Being a part of something much bigger than myself. 

Waves crashing.

Pressing the first footprints onto a snowy trail or a sandy beach.

 

Celebrating another day of being alive with my first sip of coffee. 

Basking in the afterglow of an evening of making music with my bandmates for a bar full of music lovers. 

The treasued moments when my brain gives me respite from it's endless clamor to focus on the task at hand or the person I am with

 

The afternoon sun in the winter.

 

Being in Love with someone who loves me just as much.

2024 is here

I know that the passage of time doesn't speed up or slow down. There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year (except leap years). How it feels to me is not so constant though.  I suspect a strict daily routine might slow the passage of time for some due the monotony of repetition. For others, routine might hasten it with days rich with meaningful things to do. I wonder how the passage of time feels to people who are highly organized, rarely waste a move and do more in a day than I do in week.  I can only wonder. I waste too much time doing nothing this time of year. It feels like time is crawling along, but when I look at the calendar I can see that it's flying by.

I stay up late binge watching documentaries, sleep away precious daylight and spend too much time mulling awake in bed. I guess you could say I feel guilty about it. I do.  The thing is, I have never in my life enjoyed sleep so much.

The days are getting longer again. We finally have some weather coming that will marginally resemble winter. I have even felt a little more motivated of late. The gig schedule is filling in and we have some getaways planned. I am excited about the bands I am working with and working hard to get better at playing. The home front feels very secure and fullfilling. The cavalcade of wonderful people never ceases and  I know I an blessed, even on my worst days. Onward and Happy New Year 

I am really looking forward for to the next 12 months.

Shorter Days, longer nights and many more clouds

The Summer weather was amazing.  There were days on days without a cloud in the sky, no bugs, a healthy routine of biking, hiking, fishin, playing music and the company of good people.  

Now, the trees with leaves will soon lose them soon.  The Salmon that were spawning a couple of weeks ago are laying dead now, rotting away at the bottom of the river. The blue skies are yielding to gray and we are losing daylight at a ferocious pace every day.

This is life and a sobering reminder of its impermanence. My love/hate relationship with the Fall.

Spring 2023 Re-entry into retirement AKA "Re-retired"

 The monkey needed a little help exiting after a gross overstay on my back.  Its late spring now.  The weather has been spectacular, re-retirement is fullfilling, finances are better,  music (albeit a little slow) has been more fun than ever.  More importantly, I am really enjoying the company of my fellow humans in this dirty ole PNW town, one in particlar.

Goodbye New York House. You treated me well and taught me much.  Most recently you pointed out out how hard it is to manage a property from 3k miles away AND that I never want to be a landlord.  You provided for my grown daughters  and gave me the financial security to re-retire and buy a boat.

Goodbye day jobs.  I am done with you. If I want play money,  I will earn it by playing.  End of story. 

 Hello beautiful world and beautiful girl.  I am all yours for as long you want me around.

The monkey on my back

 It has been a brutally abrupt seasonal transition this fall with the weather and my mood.  The depth of my funk is not necessarily any deeper than "normal" for this time of year, it just came on with such ferocity that it nearly incapacitated me.  At this moment I believe that the worst has passed and I am left with washing and stacking a mess of dirty dishes.   A day on the water, some sunlight, a couple of good gigs and love are launching this monkey back into the woods where it belongs.

 

A summer to remember.

 The weather has been amazing all summer with blue skies, nearly perfect temps, low humidity and long days.    I haven't been busier with gigs since 2002.  We have been masterful in finding beautiful places whete the tourists don't go.  I feel fit, loved, happy, and liberated.  

There have been some challenges with letting of my last foothold back east (my house) but I am confident it will work out to the benefit of all in the coming months.

Chilly Spring

  

It has been 2 1/2 years since moving here from my house in Rensselaer County in upstate New York.  Now, the longer I am here in the PNW, the more likely I will stay.  I'd have to say that my first year was here probably one of the roughest of my life.  I was horribly homesick. Covid completely stalled my assimilation to a new life here and a relationship that required a transition from longstanding friendship to something much more ........... failed miserably.  

It's all water under the bridge now.  Finding my own place to live gave me the space and clarity I needed to reset.  I consider my new life here a triumph. Things are really looking up.  The days are getting longer and the sky in my world is much brighter.