Although I posted the photo below on shelleyerwin.com, I wanted to also share it here. So many vibrant colors!
The forecast for the upcoming week is bleak. Cold and then colder. The only bright spot is there’s a chance for flurries. Even though I probably won’t get outside on the deck to take a photo when it’s 2 degrees, I’ll still be able to see the horizon out of windows.
That alone is worth the move. This view is 100 times better than what I’ve been able to see over the past 10-years.
TIL (Today I Learned): In 2011 a Russian would-be suicide bomber died when her mobile phone detonator was activated by a spam message wishing her a happy new year.
Even if it’s not something important, you shouldn’t promise what you might not be able to deliver. For example, yesterday I said I’d share photos today from our gathering and it’s not going to happen. Now I know the peskies are likely the only ones who care, but I still don’t like to do that.
Shame on me!
Today was a crazy busy day because I got a contingency offer on the house. That means decisions and signatures. After great deliberation and weighing the pros and cons, I accepted it. So now at 11:15 PM, I simply don’t have the energy to resize photos for web delivery.
Hopefully… tomorrow…
In the meantime, we sure did enjoy this hot weather dessert over the weekend.
Speaking of hot weather… we’re under a heat advisory until 9:00 PM tomorrow night. When I saw “feels like 111° F,” I wasn’t really surprised. I also wouldn’t have been surprised if it said it feels like 125° F.
It’s miserable hot in Indiana. 🥵
TIL (Today I Learned): The surgeon, August Bier, tested on his own assistant a form of anesthesia consisting of injecting cocaine directly into the spine. To check how effective it was, he stuck a needle in his leg, hit him in the shins with a hammer, ripped off his pubic hair and even squeezed his testicles.
Headlines are sensationalized with news stories residing behind a paywall. Then we wonder why the Internet flows with misinformation and rampant shares of untruths? Even Reuters now charges a subscription rate — a whopping $35 bucks a month.
My Twitter feed has evolved into a bunch of sensationalized headlines that link to articles behind a paywall.
I get it. Everybody needs to make money, right? Those people that write the sensationalized headlines have to get paid. What really bugs me most is that after you pay that $35 a month, you’re still tracked, and you are still served up ridiculous click-bait ads about pimples and how to get a butt like J Lo. 😏
For example, “Russia says Meta (Facebook) and Google should be held accountable for ‘inciting war.’” Sorry, you can’t find out why they’re being accused, or what they’ve done that’s incited war, or who in Russia said that (Frank’s housekeeper’s nephew’s wife?) because you’ve already used your 5 free articles this month. Thanks, Reuters.
The Associated Press (APnews.com) is currently still free and is ranked #1 for unbiased reporting. With CNN on the far left and Fox News on the far right, I prefer middle of the road reputable and reliable information. NPR is another source that leans a little left at times but is free and decent.
And in other news…
It’s March 1, the weather today is to be in the mid 60’s in my slice of the world, and I’ve officially decided to switch to Android. I ordered a Samsung smart watch yesterday and will be trading in my Apple watch. I’m now fully committed… for better or worse.
TIL (Today I Learned): The US-Canada border is the longest international border in the world, and that Alaska’s portion alone is about 38%.
This has likely been the LONGEST WEEK EVER. Not really awful — I booked a total of 5 speeches (which is awesome!) — it just felt like it dragged on and on. One highlight is we got a bit of snow last night. We had maybe a 1/2 inch by the time it quit, which was an hour or so after the photo below was taken.
So many of my Facebook friends have COVID.
Not just a little sick, but hospital and family asking for prayers/complete healing kind of sick. So scary. One FB friend (who also rode my bus a LONG time ago), spent 30+ hours in the ER in Scottsburg… no hospital beds available there or in Louisville. Ended up transferring her to Seymour. I noticed another friend asking for prayers for both her brothers that “have a long road ahead.” 😢
So as I’m scrolling past all the sick people, I see my brother and wife shared a photo from a restaurant in Vegas with friends — and no masks. He/wife have already had COVID twice and have been vaccinated and boosted.
I’m still limiting my exposure, wearing a mask when I go inside places, and washing my hands like it’s my job. I just don’t feel bulletproof.
Remember to order your free COVID-19test kits if you haven’t already. When mine arrive, I’ll store them with the other two boxes I purchased right before there weren’t any available to buy. How does that work anyway? Stores and pharmacies totally sell out, and just a couple short weeks later the federal government has bajillions of them to ship for free?
TIL (Today I Learned): Margaret Bulkley lived as a man in order to be a surgeon. She climbed the ranks of the army to Inspector General and performed the first successful C-Section in Africa. It was only discovered she was female after her death in 1865.
I have this one friend (::cough:: Jerilyn) who proclaims she and her husband stay home all the time because of COVID. “We don’t go anywhere,” she says. I smile when I see photos of them on Facebook unmasked in restaurants/bars and even at public events in different states. I don’t care if they travel to the moon — but I’m not a fan of fibs. (Stop it already, Jerilyn!) 🙂
I “get it.” COVID has gone on so long that people have to return to some semblance of pre-pandemic life. I’m going places now (I’m vaccinated) that I didn’t go to at the onset. I’ll admit I don’t always wear a mask when I go in stores or restaurants. Should I? Maybe… I don’t know. I keep a safe distance from others, am staying away from crowds, and I’m honest about my exposure risk. I hope that’s good enough.
I wonder if positivity rates will rise when fall brings cooler temps and we migrate our activities indoors. I also wonder what I’ll do with this guy…
Not only do I have no clue what kind of plant this is, but I also don’t know if it will live indoors. I rarely remember to water it and it’s flourished all summer long. I hope I can keep it alive.
Currently, Jackson County has 13.01% of its population COVID positive while Indiana is at 12.63% (up). Nevada is also slightly up at 13.18% and Florida is still ugly and slightly up with almost 15% of its population positive for COVID-19. Columbus Regional is tagging all COVID hospitalizations of children 14-years and older as adults because their pediatrics area is full.
TIL (Today I Learned): Research found that 94% of British people said they had conversed about the weather in the past six hours and 38% said they had in the past 60 minutes. This means at any moment in the UK, a third of the population is either talking about the weather, has already done so or are about to do so. (Same thing going on here right now… it’s another HOT day!)
