In a World in Everyday Ramblings

The other morning I was out early and though we had ground fog near the churned up fast flowing muddy river full of broken branches the sharp sliver of the crescent moon was glimmering through the clouds on it’s way to setting.

The crows were out in force. The racket they make at dusk and dawn is deafening. Less so when it is raining but still they come equipped with waterproof feathers and a more natural way to cope than rain boots and waterproof clothes and plastic bags for phone and wallet.

There is a restaurant here called Prime Rib and Chocolate Cake. It used to be a Newport Seafood restaurant, part of a chain. It is right next to a Buffalo Wild Wings Sports Bar and that is literally next to where they have our Weight Watcher’s meetings. (In the evenings you can smell chicken in the meeting room.)

When I walked by the Prime Rib place early on Saturday, there were two separate “unhomed” men on the ground leaning up against the wall of the patio area under the big awning.

They were wearing variations on army gear and were about 15 feet apart. They were both looking for refuge from the wet and cold and dark and were not interacting with each other because each one had a cell phone and they were exclusively engaged in focus on those. They looked up when I walked by just enough to ascertain I was not a threat and went back to their phones.

In the Weight Watchers Weekly a few weeks back there was a recipe for Citrus Ginger Roasted Broccoli. I bought the stuff to make it last week but then didn’t have time to execute it until yesterday. I made roast beets and also roasted these gorgeous colorful carrots I got at the Farmer’s Market and steamed some chard too. And I also steamed some frozen sweet potatoes.

The cats were all like…what are you doing in the kitchen for so long mom???

I bet a month after I retire from this job (if I am lucky enough to fully retire and don’t get forced out by circumstances beyond my control either by the job or disability) I swear I will drop five pounds the first month just because I will have time to cook with real food and I don’t need to deal with those particular stresses anymore.

I ran into my coordinator yesterday at church after the service where I went to meet Mrs. Sherlock. My coordinator had an intriguing idea. That we could still run my class through the Adult Ed program but just have it be offsite. That way I still get 20 sign ups for the 8 weeks session, the church makes even more money because they can rent the big room to someone else and I have a direct feeder for my class and don’t need to pay sexton fees for the room maintenance.

And then when the Senior Minister says what does yoga have to do with the mission of this church and changes up the program I still have all my students and a connection to the church.

I can’t fit 20 students in that studio. So they are going to have to spread out over the available days. I might be able to manage 16, and between 7 and 14 is what I usually get. Anyway I just need to run the numbers. But this will certainly help with the transition. And some folks won’t like the change. What I like is that it gives me more control (and the possibility of additional income).

And that is something that can’t hurt in the hard-edged greed filled grab for resources in the dark days ahead for our government. For the sake of my country I do hope that the changes in play do help some of those who are currently struggling, or perceive that they are struggling.

We are all talking about what we can do to help those in need and also how we can stay healthy and effect change. There is plenty of work for everyone.

Even guys in surplus fatigues sitting on the cold hard ground getting their dopamine fix from their cell phones just before dawn on a late fall day in a city in a country on a planet in a galaxy not far far away at all.

Last updated November 28, 2016