I thought I would share the tulips I bought for J. They opened up and bloomed yesterday. They Just say Spring, in my opinion at least

Sort of. I did not go swimming. Six out of seven days, five days in a row are good numbers. So I’m stayin’ dry today. But I did decide more tidying up was indicated. My dining table is now empty of all newspapers, direct mail, and paper bags. The chairs do not have tote bags, packs, or recyclable plastic bags hanging on their backs. The counters are clean. The sinks are clean and polished with stainless steel polish.

St Valentine’s Day was well-received by my two special ladies, my wife and step mom. I gave them both a vase with tulip bulbs which should bloom in a couple of weeks. Plus cards. And my wife got a cornball old-fashioned Valentine heart-shaped box of chocolates, because she is as sentimental as I am.

St Valentine’s Day is about love, in all its ways of being expressed.

People matter.

Wednesday, that is. I’m sitting here, feeling very satisfied that I remembered my wife and stepmother for St. Valentine’s Day.

I put actual thought into the purchases and the cards I selected.

In the world of swimming, I swam. 2500 meters, giving 13,000 meters for the period 9 -14 February. I set an ambitious goal of swimming 100 miles by Easter, I may have it done by April 1. Just recovering from sedentary living was a real epiphany. Inactivity is so dangerous for seniors. Truth is, the only times I think of myself as a senior citizen are when the Social Security benefit gets in my bank account and I receive a benefit statement from Medicare.

There are clean, actually new, sheets on the bed. I put a pork shoulder, (half of one) in the slow cooker, with some barbecue sauce, I made a packaged side dish, Zatarain’s Black Beans and Rice. Surprisingly good for a boxed something. That and some cole slaw. Dinner under $12.

I feel like I am about to spin off into one of my Pleasure Of Domestic Arts Rants. I will just leave it at “Doing the housework is satisfying.” Let that suffice for now.

I have an idea for a story. Somewhat kinky, but I just want to use kink metaphorically in exploring loyalty, service, and passionate intensity.

Stay tuned.

Later. Loves 💘

It was a day of sleeping late, or sleeping in blocks of time 4 hours,up a while then 3 more hours.

Had lunch out. Simple stuff, salad, bowl of chili. I picked up another prescription at the same pharmacy as yesterday.

I visited my AA buddy who is recovering from a stroke. He is home, making progress. He is young, only 45.

I came home, went through some recyclables, tben went swimming about 7:30. I did a 3300 meter swim (2+miles).

When I got home I learned my wife is eligible for her company’s health insurance plan, even though she is only part time. That is a big problem solved til she is Medicare eligible in November.

Tired now. Bedtime.

Night Loves 💘

I did go to AA, then the Y, Swam 2100 meters, put petrol in the motorcar ($1.959/gal @ BJ’s,btw). I drove over to the Dr’s office. He is on the faculty at the local medical school. They relocated from a grungy downtown facility that looked like they stole a blueprint from a Soviet bloc prison to a nice new modern facility, in a nice area with open spaces and trees. And guess what? Parking that was a hassle downtown is a hassle here. Go figure.

Driving home, I picked up a prescription, ate some dinner and a lot of fruit. (Thank you, Weight Watchers).

I watched Wehrmacht (WW2 German Army. Hitler, et al) training films. Still creepy after all these years. I talked w with my elder son, (see earlier post). I also did a load of laundry. I’m trying to conserve water. I’m ready for bed.

Good night Loves 💘

I’m sitting here, thinking of all the stuff I should be doing. I have a Doctor’s appointment at Three PM. It should be brief. I will swim after the appointment. Or not. I could swim between the AA meeting at noon and the appointment. Very doable. Perhaps I could leave the meeting early.

I want to spend more time studying and writing. That was the big discovery for my retirement purpose this weekend.

More later

This is the enchanting art song I featured in the last post.

I skipped swimming yesterday, having put four hours into housecleaning. Today. I started my swim. After completing 2500 meters, I decided I would swim 2 miles. I like the longer swims when I decide one is in order.

The middle school swim team doesn’t practice on Friday afternoon. I got to use my favorite lane, one with a ladder for easy entry. I look awkward climbing in when I don’t use the ladder.

When I finished, I showered, changed, and went home. I’m sitting here now, just relaxing, enjoying the feeling of warm feet.

Nothing really important to write about. Thinking of a story for Jade.

Later Loves. 💘

I was up later than usual last night. I wrote an erotic, sexually explicit story at the behest of one of this blog’s followers. Then I went upstairs, ostensibly to sleep, but my wife was watching TeeVee. I got her to play a Seinfeld DVD, which usually facilitates my dozing off. The episodes serve as bedtime stories for me. I know them almost by heart and the familiar voices relax me. But I don’t just doze off and awaken seven or eight hours later. I woke up around 6:30 AM, roughly four hours later, seemingly alert. Now consciousness makes her demands known. I am watching YouTube, drinking coffee (Colombian), eating fruit and cheese. The sleepiness is working it’s way back. And this half wakeful state is most compelling.

“To sleep, perchance to dream…”

This lethargy has me dreaming, sort of, but I’m still steering this ship of consciousness. So the dreams aren’t really dreams, just puny, willful fantasies. The real dreams are when the monsters, gremlins, and imps within us take the reins. And suddenly I’m re-living horrible jobs and dysfunctional marriages. Suddenly alternative endings take shape.

But the greatest dream is to imagine things being different. And it take wakefulness for that outcome to materialize.

Just when I thought I should just chill all day, I got the idea that I could not put off cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen any longer. They are now clean. We have the washer and dryer in the bathroom. That means dryer dust. I am not happy with how the dryer is vented. Until we fix that, we will continue to be the world’s largest producer of dryer lint. I swear we could export it to a country with no dryer lint, so they would not feel deprived.

I also became skilled in soap scum removal with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I was truly astonished at what came off.

We are clean of kitchen and bathroom. Dirty of mind. Still.