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Salt Lake City, New Granddaughter, and Bryce Canyon

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I have 7 layers on and am still cold here at Bryce Canyon National Park, but it is worth it. This morning we got up at 3:45 and saw the Milky Way at Sunrise Point. 22°. We were the only people there. Just as we got out of the car, I saw a meteorite. We walked out to the overlook and sat for a while on the bench. Then, throughly frozen, we drove to Farpoint to see the sunrise. Thank goodness for the heated seats and steering wheel in the Jeep Compass we rented. And thank goodness I made Grant buy a park sweatshirt since then he could give me his red windbreaker. Even with tights under my pants and 2 pairs of socks, my legs and feet are cold. Yes, we could have packed bulky warm clothes but we are only here overnight to see the dark skies. We started our trip flying into Salt Lake City 4 days ago to see new granddaughter Hazel Maeve and to attend the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival. 2 birds… Hazel is absolutely darling. I know, I know, a doting grandmother would say that, but she is. And s...
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OUT!

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Turns out the probability 40+-year-old VHS player does work, and I found a store-bought tape to try. Picture quality not great, but we plunged ahead. Unfortunately, the 2nd cassette would not eject. I am pretty sure we pushed buttons faster than that analog machine could handle. After watching  many YouTubes, we figured how to take the cover off and remove the stuck cassette. Unfortunately, it meant cutting the tape, but there were more to try. Which we did without putting the cover back on so we could watch what was happening. Play, rewind, fast forward all worked, but it was obvious my treasured tapes of Stephanie as a baby, my learning to wind sail, kids’ birthday parties, etc were all too damaged to keep.  I had hoped to play them on the big tv and take some short shots with our phones. No one wants the hours and hours we recorded when having a video camera was a novelty. Sigh, I accepted the reality. To the trash.  Years ago, I had transferred some of the tapes to a ...
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Catching Up

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I find it takes me at least a day to recover (somewhat) from a trip. I had paid for upgrades to first class, $221 each, for our red eye home. Although it was nice to have dinner, I wasn’t impressed. Perhaps there was a footrest I could figure out, but I have slept better in the narrower seats in premium. Meh. We slept most of the morning, had lunch, then napped. By the next day, I was somewhat myself. Not quite on East Coast time, but getting there. Now it’s catch up time. Yard: I must take down the lychee and get the bananas planted across the canal-side in its place. They are starting to work on the opposite lot, and I want my privacy plants up and tall. I’ll plant more elderberry at the water’s edge, and clear out around the swamp maples and cypress, which are natives. But first, bananas. I harvested my onions: Texas Sweets, Red Creole, and Texas Early Whites. I’m pleased with the crop. Next year, I hope to do it a little earlier, so I can braid the tops. Since I hadn’t dug up all t...
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Weight

I bought a new turtle food which recommended feeding 1% to 4% body weight per day. Using the kitchen scales and turning them on their backs in a stainless steel bowl, William came in at 17.8 ounces, Robert at 11. While I was at it, and using our bathroom scales, Grace is a sleek 9 pounds, while I am a fluffy 166. William of course loves the new routine and has gobbled this new food right down. Robert is more reluctant to try it, but I assume will come around. He now comes charging at me whenever I near their pen. Gracie continues to eat 3/4 of the dried food we give her and some of the scraps Grant puts in her bowl.  Me? I’m with William. So to that end, I asked AI to devise meal plans for Grant and me that are lighter summer dinners heavy-ish on protein (all over news that old people don’t eat enough protein), flavor rich for Grant and textured for me, with the goal of our loosing about a half pound per week. Some vegetarian, some not. AI’s first results were pretty good. We liked...
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Another Year

The first day of our seventh year at 12 Oakdale Street. I hope this will be similar to the previous ones, with no surprises. At our age, surprises are rarely good. I will keep on shedding stuff, being optimistic about how much I will accomplish. I also continue shedding weight, since some crept back, definitely no surprise. Baking and eating sourdough bread has consequences. Will this year be when I get rid of all the grass paths? Sure, why not? Could happen. The freeze gave me an opportunity to rethink some of the plantings I’ve done. I will continue adding to my hedgerows on the north and especially south property lines. Since the lychee died back, I’m moving more bananas along the canal. Eventually that 2-story house will be built across from us. Grant is slowing down, although he is still doing his 2 mile, somewhat daily walks. I use a lot of my energy being patient (that’s definitely ironic). Sometimes I’m successful, often I’m not. A growth edge it would behoove me to work on. Bi...
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Year’s End

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  Time has become very elastic for me. Sometimes it seems very long, almost like a kid waiting for Christmas. Other times, it snaps back. We have been here 6 years. Can that be true? I read that people with dementia are confused about WHEN they are, so that is why they get so upset about WHERE they are. If I believed it was 1964, why am I here and not in my childhood home? I get it. Although I’m fairly sure I’m still coherent. Not positive, but fairly sure. It is just that some things seem like yesterday. Moving here. The kids are young, not approaching or hitting middle aged. I just bought that blouse.  Then, other events seem so long ago. I bought that shirt at Macys in Fort Lauderdale. When did we ever live there? Memories get reversed by importance? In any case, we are here, and we are well. About all I can ask for. More than my share.
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Girlfriends

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Time for our annual get together: 6 high school girlfriends for a long weekend at Kathy’s house in Swanee, Georgia. I bought my airline ticket months ago. The week before kickoff, Mickie let the rest of know that she had thought about cancelling the reunion since she’d likely broken her foot while visiting Japan (Sue already knew of the accident since she was along on that trip.) She was using a knee scooter (again) and would soldier on. Then Thursday morning, right before she was to drive from Elijah, GA, Mary Bird texted that she had decided not to come so she could have “me” time. What? Is she okay? No one knows. On the home front, Monday Grant gouged a quarter-sized hole in his shin on a stick from a freeze-killed coffee plant that I had asked my yard person CC to cut to the ground. She had interpreted that to mean, “Please leave dead 12”-18” spikes sticking out off the ground when you cut back a plant.” Little swords just waiting for action. I had warned Grant to be careful when h...
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