I don’t know if I will make it to New Year (still 11 hours to go here)? I rarely do. But my wife and I are planning on dinner and a movie - I’m not sure what yet, and so any recommendations gratefully received.
2020
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 →
For me over the last few years this week between Christmas and New Year has just felt very lllooonnnggg. With the weekends tagged on, it is feeling longer this year. At the end of a difficult year, time off feels good, AND I’ll be ready to get back to a more normal week.
I’m just catching up with the sad news of Barry Lopez passing away on Christmas Day at the age of 75, from prostate cancer. I am grateful to have seen him twice give talks. Both times I could have sat for hours with a single sentence shared, meditating on the wisdom within it.
We found a quiet, empty and very small hideaway yesterday, admits what I thought were troublingly crowded beaches (we almost turned around and went home). In the distance is the island of Kaho’olawe, and just in front I could make out the water spouts of whales.
Just next to where we were sitting was this old lava tube. I imagined red hot molten lava pouring out of it and into the ocean, many moons ago.
The smell of freshly cut grass drifts over from next door, alongside the roar of the lawn mower. I am transported back to summer evenings of my youth, and memories of my father mowing the back garden on a Sunday evening, while distant church bells call worshipers.
My wife and I just spent the afternoon watching Pixar’s new movie Soul, an exploration of life, death and meaning. Imaginative storytelling alongside wonderful animation. I find it amazing to see where animation has got to.🍿
Movie watching just got bumped forward to this afternoon. The clouds have come in, the wind has picked up and the rain is thundering down on the roof. 💨🌧 We are putting our feet up this afternoon. 🍿
There’s been a lot of activity, and eating, over the last couple of days. I am ready for a movie this evening…nothing else.
This was accidently posted to the wrong blog. Correcting the error and date now: Waking up to the white egrets flying east for their day. Home for them appears to be somewhere west of us, and the days are spent on the eastern edge of the island. Merry Christmas to you all. 🎄
This has been an unexpected ”finding new Micro.blog” early afternoon.
I just watch A Charlie Brown Christmas on Apple TV+. Aside from enjoying the antics of the Peanuts gang, I love the Christmas message and spirit that is conveyed through the short animation.
What a beautiful day! 🌞🎄
Wednesday, December 23, 2020 →
This quote from Bryan Stevenson is sitting with me today,
Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.
Melissa and I are not long back from a lovely evening at Mama’s Fish House to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Mama’s does the Hawai’i experience so well. I’m happy that they survived the pandemic after rumours that they were closing, and they are handling reopening well.
The Winter Solstice, the Jupiter and Saturn in conjunction, AND Melissa and my 13th wedding anniversary. A day of auspiciousness. 😊 Here’s a fun picture of us in England five years ago, on a cold winter’s day. ❤️
Listening to Essential Carols - The Very Best of King’s College Choir, Cambridge by Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. 🎵
I’m looking for a site that hosts audio files in the same way that YouTube and Vimeo host videos, but preferably without advertisements, and not specifically a podcast hoster.
I’m nurturing a throbbing head today, day 2 of the migraine, and taking it quietly.
This is the time of year that I wish there was a Trader Joe’s just down the road, for all of those European treats that make the Holidays, the Holidays for me (and transports me home). 🎄🏠
I’ve suffered from migraines since I was in my mid-teens. They are not as ferocious, a very apt description, as they use to be and occur less frequently. However, they do occur out of the blue, catching me unaware, and can last from one to four days, three being an average.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 →
Well I have now transferred all of my videos from YouTube to Vimeo and deleted my YouTube page. While I still have some exploring around the options that Vimeo offers, for now I am happy with the layout of my Vimeo page, videos being grouped together appropriately.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 →
Another book that arrived today from Powell’s Books (thanks to a book token that I was given over a year ago 🤦🏼♂️). A very old copy of Now We Are Six I owned, that was falling to pieces, I foolishly passed on when clearing out. I have missed it ever since. Wrong now righted!
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 →
I can’t remember who on Micro.blog mentioned this book? It was a while ago. A long while ago from my memory, but at long last I have bought my own copy. It’s beautifully presented. I look forward to delving into it, and exploring the aromas and tastes that it hints at.
I watched The Only Living Boy in New York last night and thoroughly enjoyed the story that it told. Jeff Bridges plays a lovely old character. Well worth your time, I believe. 🍿
My wife & I sat outside last night to watch the Geminids Meteor shower. We saw a few meteors, both quick flashes and long streaks. We would have stayed longer, but tiredness got the better of us.
Silhouette and star at sunset.
I watched the first Bond film, Dr. No the other night. I wanted an evening of nostalgia and escape. When the film was made in 1962 my mother was in Jamaica and saw the “dragon” used in the film sitting in a shed. She said that it was a tractor covered in a design. 🍿
I paid for a full subscription to Castro today. It has helped me get into more regular podcast listening, more than any other podcast app that I have tried. The workflow just works for me.
It’s so still and quiet this morning. Something to rest into.
Set up and in place. We have a HomePod in another bigger space. This Mini is in a small room & I think has an incredible sound for its size. Its big brother has a richer sound, but I am very happy with this purchase. Along with a family plan, music can now be played in 2 rooms.
