Spider Bites

 

I have, what I believe are three spider bites, all very much near each other on my neck.  They are driving me crazy, as my shirt collar rubs against them, they are inflamed and warm to the touch.  I put Benadryl cream on them last night, but it has not helped much. 

Even though I could be mistaken, and the above may be mosquito bites.... I am fairly confident they are spider bites.  While mosquito bites are itchy and annoying, for me, they are typically smaller, less inflamed, and usually not "reddish" in color.  I tend to have this more (unfortunately) robust reaction to spider bites.

I hoofed out all my miles on the indoor track yesterday.  It was boring.... but being in supposedly better air quality was supposedly helpful and since I was running in the late afternoon.... being OUT OF THE SUN was very much helpful.  

With all the deadlines still to be accomplished, I again was amotivational (non-motivated) this morning to run.  Added to this, the damn air quality is still in the unhealthy level in my neck of the woods.... so I am going to have to hoof out a lot of damn miles again INDOORS this afternoon.  But.... I was SO very amotivational, that I did not use my time effectively and did not arrive at the U early so I could get more of the annoying work done.  I only arrived at the U at 8:15am.  If I would have been trying to maximize my effort, I would have instead gotten to the U by 6:00am when I normally would be hoofing outside.  But, unfortunately.... I was lazy.

My wife and I were discussing our hoped for retirement plans a bit yesterday while in the pool.  We both want the same sorts of things:

1.  We would like to live where Winter is not so much just a time of huge snow and ice.  We would love to live in a place where the Winter temperatures at worst perhaps only dip into the low 40s or so.  (~4 or 5 degrees C).

2.  We would like a two bedroom condominium with a balcony.  I would enjoy it being on a higher up floor (perhaps 10th floor or above), whereas my wife is fine any floor that is 2nd or above).  We envision the second bedroom having a Murphy Bed, and then a desk for our computer, and space for hobbies (me, musical instruments, my wife... other things).  

3.  We would want the condominium complex to have a pool and a fitness center.

4.  We would like to be in the city or town area so that we could walk to many things readily.

5.  It would be especially nice if the Catholic Church in the area was also within walking distance.

6.  Good quality health care. 

7.  It would be wonderful if there were at least SOME restaurants with ethnic cuisine in the town.... personal favorites would be Ethiopian, Indian, Turkish, Mediterranean, Japanese.  

In trying to peruse online ideas of possible areas that MAY have the above and are ALSO considered to be economically reasonable as well.... the city of Savannah, Georgia keeps coming up in searches.  We will try to dig deeper into that city as well as others as we continue to look about.  

Seeing the big pound tub of "Sir Walter Raleigh" on my desk in that video snippet the other day has sparked so many memories of about how fond I am of the traditional, non-aromatic Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco.  To me, it represents all the aspects of perfection in a pipe tobacco.  It, too, was the type of pipe tobacco I first "borrowed" secretly a pinch of from my Dad's tub way back when I first tried a pipe as a kid.  While I was hoofing out the loops yesterday, I allowed my mind to drift deeply into the thoughts of the ephemeral tastes and flavors of Sir Walter Raleigh.  With my imagination, I could ALMOST  taste the rich flavors on my tongue and in my nasal passages as I ran. The many memories of that leaf are so vivid and beautiful. 

PipeTobacco 

ZOTZ

 

One of my kids gave me a jar filled with Zotz candy for Father's Day.  This candy is one I remember from the late 1960s and early 1970s that I always found fun.  It is basically a hard, fruit-flavored candy with a center that contains a powder than when moistened (by saliva) becomes "fizzy".    It was a perfect candy of the time.  

I had not really seen the candy for decades, except an OCCASIONAL (rare) sighting in the odd, specialty candy shops in major cities.  My kids have heard me talk about Zotz fairly often.  

• I was tired and achy this morning, and feeling the pressure to get paperwork accomplished, so I did not run, but instead went to the U very early.  
• This now means I need to run, and I am going to go to the track at the U and do so just as soon as I am done here. I am going to attempt somewhere between 10 - 15 miles, if I can maintain the energy doing all the damn circles. 
  
• Another part of the reason I did not want to run outside this morning was that the air quality seemed suspiciously smoky and hazy.... although I have not heard much about the Canadian wildfires affecting us recently. 
• In my mind, I kept rethinking about the snippet of video of me smoking my pipe in a much younger time that I saw yesterday, and especially did so as I was heading off to sleep.  It was such a fun surprise to see and view.  I did not mention it yesterday, but also in this video, I was pleased to see on my desk at that time, a big, beautiful, one-pound canister of Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco.  In my office, it was one of my favorites of that time. Hell, it has always been a favorite of mine for "regular" pipe tobacco as was also Prince Albert.  Not that I did not like "fancier" types of pipe tobacco as well..... in reality, I do not think there was ever a pipe tobacco I did not enjoy!

PipeTobacco 

Old Timey Video

 

My wife is continuing to do well!  She has swelling above her eye, but as of yet, no bruising.  I gently covered the abrasion with triple antibiotic ointment a few times last evening, and fortunately, this has helped the abrasion itself be relatively good looking as well and it seems smooth like there will be no scarring.  She feels sore, but all things considered, is doing very well!

• I forced myself to get in 10 miles (~16 km) this morning even though I had limited time because of class.  So, I ended up awakening before dawn and wearing my headlamp for the start of the run.  I want to stay on track for my mileage goal for the week, so I do not have to have an extra long run during this very hectic time.
• I am able to type a bit right now as I am proctoring a laboratory exam at the moment.  The room is filled with very nervous students at 30 different stations with microscopes, body parts (models), tissue samples, and diagrams and photographs.  They are tasked with answering 100 different questions across these 30 stations.  In order to keep the class moving along, they get only 2.5 minutes per station and then everyone has to get up and move to the next station in sequence for them.  I have a timer that has a loud, clanging alarm that goes off every 2.5 minutes.  The students are nervous.... but they should do fine….. if they studied properly.  :)
• While trying to compile some of the end of the year documents yesterday, I had to dig around in some old files to try to find a copy of an old photograph I had somewhere of some lab equipment I had back a long, long time ago.  I had the help of our Library Staff back then.... in terms of converting a big bunch of old files photographs and videos onto the "new fangled" (back then) recordable  DVR disc.  Luckily, I still have one functional, external CD/DVR player that I can hook up to my computer by USB to play these discs.  The many DVR discs I have..... have files, photographs, documents, videos all in some rather haphazard "organization" (better word would be lack of organization) across decades.  On one of the discs I happened across a converted bit of footage from some VCR tapes and there I was...... me... sometime in perhaps my late 30s, I believe.  I was chunkier back then, but I also had very dark brown hair (other than my beard and mustache which were mostly brown but with a fair amount of red and black scattered about as well).  My beard and mustache were of the shorter style I wore for a helluva long time.  In the video I had been sitting and talking, and gesturing at some equipment in the room with the stem of my pipe.  I then put the stem back in my mouth, but the ember had gone out, so I had to relight my pipe before proceeding.  The movements, the gestures, the lighting of my pipe were all just so pleasantly normal and casual and pleasant to see.  Watching the video brought back a lot of memories.  I did eventually find the old photo I needed for the document as well.  It took quite a while.  
• My wife is thinking she will be up for swimming later in the day.  I look forward to this enormously!!!!!

I have to probably call this post for today, as I need to get back to more "closely" monitoring the lab exam.  :)

PipeTobacco

Relief, But Exhaustion

 

A sense of relief, but not because I am "done" with all the myriad of things I must do this week.... far from it.  But, more about the relief near the end.

• As was anticipated, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were non-stop work.  The only exceptions were rather brief.... a half an hour swim with my wife on Saturday, Mass, and a brief dinner out because it was Father's Day.  Other than that, non-stop computer work and other work-work, from sun up to about 10pm each day.

• As I needed to get my miles in since I could not run Friday, I had to hoof out 10.5 miles (~17 km) on Saturday.  With the Canadian wildfires still causing atmospheric issues, I first went to the track... only to find that they have decided to close on weekends between June 15th and August 15th.  So, I had to go back and run outside.

• Nothing even remotely interesting to report about the WORK that I did those three days.  I can attest that I would hate/despise/be emotionally demoralized if my career were in the computer/data entry field.  Working on a computer all damn day is SO very draining to me.  I work more than enough on the computer as a regular old professor.  But, having it be my whole damn day?!?!?!  That would be torture.  People who like that sort of career must have a far, far different level of resolve than I could ever muster.

• This morning, a repair person was set to come and fix our clothes dryer.  But, he arrived.... and proceeded to tell us that the wrong part had been ordered.... so we have to wait some more.  It has been two weeks since we have done laundry.  The first week was due to waiting for the first appointment to "evaluate".  The second week was waiting for the damnable part to be ordered and to come in..... and of course they ordered the wrong thing.  So, it may be three weeks or more before we get our dryer fixed.  My wife and I are thinking we will go to a laundromat, but there are not many around anymore.  It will be a bit of a drive. 
  

• I awoke extra early so I could get my run finished and be home for the dryer repairman.  I ran 10.5 miles (~17 km) this morning.  I would have ran more if I had known the appointment would go to hell. 

Now... onto the relief..... but first..... the horror and worry preceding the relief:

• After the repairman bailed because of the incorrect part, my wife and I both decided to get on with other things we could do and get done.  My wife had a variety of errands she wanted to accomplish, and I needed to get to the U to get working again on the many tasks I had as well.

• When I pulled into the parking lot at the U, I got a call from my wife, and she was crying.

• She had fallen... tripped over the edge of a curb and had hit her head on the cement, right above her eye socket.  She had also scrapped her knee and leg.  She was quite worried, but was heading to the nearby Emergency Room for evaluation. 
  

• I immediately high-tailed it off the U campus and raced to the Emergency Room.

• My wife was at the registration desk when I arrived. 
  

• She was wheeled into a space in the ER, and I was allowed to be in her room.  Over the next 3.5 hours lots of tests were performed, including a head CAT Scan and an X-ray of the pelvic region. 
  

• The relief.... came when the clinician came in and told us that there were no disturbing signs in any of the tests.  My wife will likely be black-and-blue in and around the eye for a few days, and will likely be very sore.... but all the especially worrisome things were ok.  
  

• She was told to rest, and that is what she is going to do this afternoon.... and will (hopefully) drink plenty of fluids as well.  
  

• I am now back at the U, trying to get more crap done.  

PipeTobacco

Argh!

The "too much to do, and not enough time to do it" feeling I have been having all week has crested to the point where I feel tremendous anxiety.  All I can do is keep trying.... keep persevering and hope that it all gets done.  

• I went to work at 7:00am this morning.  I needed to do a run of ~10 miles (~16 km) to complete the week.  But.... the air quality turned bad again in my region.... there was a nearly palpable orangeish haze from the wildfires in Canada.  I felt hesitant to run outdoors as it is not advised when the air quality is so low.  So I came in to do more of the work I need.
• Hopefully..... hopefully, I will find enough time to put in the needed 10 miles on the indoor track.  Otherwise I will have to find time to try to do it tomorrow.... and from all weather suggestions, I will probably have to do so INSIDE then as well.    But, my body needs the two day, weekend break from big mile running (big for me, anyhow) if at all possible.  
• I foresee only a weekend of non-stop work of various sorts.  It exhausts me to try to look at the "big picture" of the next several days.  So, I am trying to avoid doing so and am trying to stay focused on what I am doing at the moment.  

Nothing else to add, I need to get back to work.  I miss relaxed, casual time.  I miss having time that is unstructured.  I miss feeling carefree.  And, I miss my pipes.

PipeTobacco
 

Sleep !!! ??? "***"

 

Sleep is a rather rare commodity for me at times.  Most of the time, with my need to force myself to rise early for running (usually up between 4:30am and 5:00am), and the desire/need to spend time with my wife and family in the evening leading me to go to bed usually between 11:00pm and 11:30pm.... and at least 10-15 minutes of casual reading in bed to prepare for sleep..... I do not get a helluva lot of sleep.  Unfortunately, SOMETIMES the timing is worse, however.... like it is currently with the myriad of deadlines that are piling upon me.  I checked my "gizmo watch" (this is the extreme watch I inherited from my son when he wanted a fancier sports watch that was many times more expensive than this one.  To me, it is the "gizmo watch".  I have grown fond of it because it will track my running mileage so that I am free to run anywhere without first having to measure it out by vehicle.   But, this damn gizmo watch does a lot more too:

It has been letting me know that during the last several months when I looked at the data it collects, that my average resting heart rate was 51 beats per minute.  

But... related to sleep.... it has shown over the last several months that I have averaged just a few minutes under 6 hours of sleep a night.... and during the last few days, my average has been worse.... roughly 3.5 hours of sleep a night.

I usually have absolutely no trouble falling asleep.  I have a ritual that has always seemed to work for me.... and I have a bout of insomnia only when I fail at my method.  Luckily, I typically only have insomnia perhaps one or two times a year. My ritual is very effective for me. 

Interestingly, I was reading an article about sleep... online this morning.... here , and was mildly surprised that I had basically developed and followed with my own self designed ritual.... the suggested techniques of the above linked article for myself, simply using logic of what would seem to help:

The five steps to sleep according to the article are:

1. Relax your face. Focus on your forehead, your eyes, your cheeks, your jaw, and so on. Feel the tension held in them and consciously push it away.
2. Drop your shoulders. Let your arms flop down and your shoulders relax. Imagine there is a soft, warm wind gently pushing your arms down.
3. Take a deep breath. Slowly inhale and let it out. As you do so, focus on how it relaxes your stomach. Don’t try to hold your stomach in; let it all out.
4. Relax your legs. The warm wind is back, and this time it’s gently easing your legs down. Let your legs sink into the bed or the floor. They are leaden, and the bed is soft.
5. Clear your mind. There are a few ways to do this. For instance, try to visualize some calming images, like lying by a flowing river or staring at the clouds. If that doesn’t work, try saying the words “don’t think” over and over for about 10 seconds. If you get distracted, don’t get angry; just pull your mind back to one of those two techniques.

The "clearing your mind" aspect is the most challenging, and is the usual reason I may have that rare bout of insomnia.  But, reading something FUN before sleep (like a novel.... and absolutely NOTHING work related) is helpful, and then as I lay down in my sleep position (typically on my side, but sometimes on my stomach).... I guide/allow my mind to "drift".... and the most easily conjured up "drifting" sort of memory I can easily draw upon is the casual, nearly autonomic patterns and behaviors of filling, lighting, and smoking my pipes.  Remembering those cherished times and actions gives me such peace and tranquility.... and it is both a peace and a tranquility that is extremely easy to bring into my mind.... that I drift comfortably off to sleep in moments. 

With the ease I have in falling asleep, I still do not understand why my memory or retention of the dreams I have while sleeping has declined.  It has been this way for perhaps two years now.  But, even though I AM starting to recall at least some snippets of dreams again, it is not like it was.  And, I am not sure why.  

* * * * *

My friend, Pat M. commented that I tend to feel guilty a lot of the time anyway, so why not just go back to smoking my pipes anyway since I tend to easily feel guilt anyway.  So, to answer Pat..... I agree with you on the premise of guilt.  I do feel guilt when I fail at doing things I say I WILL FIX in myself and DO in order to try to be a kinder, better person.  I have thought through many times about whether guilt regarding a return to my pipes is valid.  I am still indecisive about it, however.  But, I do also admit that I have had a fair number of times, especially recently, where I have thought to myself, "Is this abstaining.... just a waste of time?"  I do think about that often.

PipeTobacco

Still Overwhelmingly Busy

 

I am still feeling rather overwhelmed.  But, I am trying to make the best of it.  Too many things to do and unfortunately, very little time to accomplish them.... and to make it harder.... most of the things are related to unpleasant paperwork and paper shuffling challenges. 

My friend who goes by "Unknown" here commented:

"I worry that one of these days you'll impulsively grab for that welcome tool at a time when you feel a particular need for support... and then you will guilt yourself terribly when you realize that you're feeling drawn back into full-time pipe-smoking." 

I do admit having that concern as well.  I could see it occurring in a moment of shear frustration and/or sadness/anxiety or some such similar roiling emotion.  I would like to find a way back to my pipes that is guilt free.  But, other than the sporadic, long distance destination pipe method (aka as what I did with Iwan Ries in Chicago), I am not sure IF there is a way to return without guilt.  From my quick calculation, it has now been 1,946 days that I have gone without indulging in my friendly pipes and pipe tobaccos.  Well, technically, I guess it would be 1,945 days…. because I DID have the ethereal, but infinitely memorable splendor of a robust, tranquil, tasty, convivial, and very friendly pipe at Iwan Ries.  

• 11.6 miles (~19 km) this morning.  Nice weather.  It seems the air quality has improved as well.  Last week during the peak of the smoky haze from the Canadian wildfires, I ran two of my days on the indoor track (because in theory, the filtered, indoor air was better/safer).  
• Our garden is growing well, but we need to do some weeding.... however it will have to wait, as I have too much paperwork weighing me down like a barge filled to the brim with iron ore.  I am especially looking forward to eating home-grown horseradish this fall.  
• Even though I still have a helluva lot to do, my wife was able to help me last evening by being a listening ear to my worries/concerns about all the crap I needed to manage to do in the next week and a half.  Her support, and her willingness to hear my grousing and express the stresses and anxieties..... helped me to calm down a bit and helped me to focus and organize.

Back to work.

PipeTobacco 

Exhaustion & A Non-Stop Treadmill

 

Too tired for much in the way of "creativity" today, so as was the tagline in "Dragnet"..... "Just the facts."

• My busyness has ramped up considerably the last week. Trying to keep juggling all the responsibilities without having a collapse of balls onto the ground is no easy task at the moment.  It feels like I am trying to juggle 15 balls simultaneously.  
• I have been persistent in maintaining my running.... even though it is exhausting with all the other things I am needing to do.  I have gotten up twice at 3:30am to run (with a headlight) so I could get in enough miles to stay consistent.  
• An old friend & retired colleague of mine.... his wife passed away, and it has been hard.  She was also a good friend as well.  
• A cousin passed away.... again hard.
• My student's research presentation of some of our lab's research went very well.... I went to see him speak even though I was not officially registered for the conference.  It was close enough for me to drive to... but the drive time ate up a lot of time too.
• Grant spending deadlines are looming and I have to get all my ducks in a row about what I can order/purchase.
• Close-out document deadlines are fast approaching for one grant.... and the fussy paperwork is a logisitical pain in the posterior.
• U paperwork for a NEW grant needs to be accomplished as well, and the fussy folks in administration are sticklers for getting this paperwork done NOW.
• Animal Research and Human Research applications have to get done and submitted to give the slow as molasses folks enough (read excessive) time so (finger's crossed) they will have worked through the system and will be approved BEFORE Fall starts.  Again, both are supposed to take only two weeks from the time of submission, but that is a pipe dream with both sets of the evaluators.  I will be damn lucky if I hear anything back in 7 weeks.  
• We are planning a party for a relative that is fairly labor intensive as well.  
• In theory I am potentially going to visit an archival library containing papers of an historical biologist I try to write about biographically.  But, to get to visit this place, I must do so before the end of the month, otherwise I will not have any costs covered.  
• There is a lot more.  But, now I am feeling stress about not actively gnawing away at the looming pile of work, so I had better end here.
• I do have to fully admit.... a pipe or two or twelve..... would be a welcome tool to support me as I wade through all this "deadlined" effort. 
• Addendum….. I also had to big voice Lecture all day!!!!  I am pooped and still need to a helluva lot more today!!!!

PipeTobacco 

Packed

 

My day yesterday was as packed and busy as the bowl of the pipe in the above image that is packed with delightful crumbles of pipe tobacco:

• 9 hours of "big voice" professoring in my classes.
• I was out of bed and hoofing on the trail as early as I could force myself out of bed... to no avail.... I only ran 7.0 miles (~11 km) yesterday.
• During the run..... amazingly.... I saw ANOTHER pipe smoker!!!  It is damn rare these days.  This fellow was about my age, and he was driving a fully-loaded bright red, brand-damn-new full size Ford pickup.  He had on a snap brim hat like I typically wear as well.  He had a few bales of hay in the bed of the pickup.  I suspect he was a farmer from the outskirts of town.  I only caught a brief glimpse of the fellow as he drove across the trail (the trail I run on crosses a few streets as you travel outword from the central core).  Even though he was relatively far away, I could tell he was gripping a full bent, traditional briar pipe with his teeth.  It is truly unusual to see a pipe smoking fellow out and about anymore. 
  
• Went through and completed all ~150 modules of a mandatory certification program for research.  I had to complete the non-human animal modules for my animal model research and for the Institutional Animal Board... and I had to complete the human modules for the human research studies I also work on (I am not the principle investigator on these human studies, but I do engage in some human research.) and for our Institutional Review Board.  These modules are tedious and exhausting.  And, even though nothing really ever changes in them, you receive certification for only three years.  It feels like this is the zillionth time I have had to redo these modules.  You are supposed to read a whole plethora of information for all the modules and it could take days to complete.  But.... I have done this SO MANY TIMES..... I skipped looking at any of the reading matter on any of the ~150 modules.... and just took the quizzes (usually 5-10 questions each).  After having done this so many times.... I knew the answers instantly.  So.... it only took a few hours in total.  I am now compliant through 2026 ! 

Today:

• Today, I awoke at 4:30am, not because I wanted to, but because we had a repair person coming to our house, so I had to be done with my run so I would be back to "greet" the fellow.  So, I hoofed out 13.1 miles (~21km) and arrived back home ~15 minutes before he arrived. 
• Finished up two exams and got them to my secretary to run through our Graphics Office for printing.  
• Picked up a scientific meeting poster I had printed for one of my research students who is presenting at a meeting this weekend.  
• I am part of a U "think tank" about the AI situation.  The group begins meeting this Fall, but there is a book that was purchased for our group to read.  I went to the Academic Affairs Office and picked it up today.  
• I worked with my nematodes and my rats some today.
• I prepared for some Drosophila work tomorrow.
• I did a sh*tl**d of boring paperwork.   

Tonight:

• Hoping to swim with my wife.
• Hoping to go watch and listen to some live jazz tonight at a small festival near us.

That is about it.

 

PipeTobacco

Hiring

 

Not really a "normal" task, but one I have done involves hiring.  Sometimes it is stressful (as with the hiring of adjunct faculty in the Department Chair Position).  But, not always..... currently, one of my grants has within it funds to offer paid positions ("stipends") to a trio of undergraduate students who are interested in being involved with my research team.  I have posted these positions at the U and have had a sizeable response in terms of applicants.  I am now in the process of interviewing the applicants.  

It is quite nice to meet, chat with, and interview these students.... some of whom I know from a class or two they have taken from me (If they took one of my BIG classes, I will at least know them at least by face.  If they took one of my smaller sized classes, I will additionally know more about them.).  However, a sizable number of applicants have never had me for a class (yet), and are either very interested in my research, or interested in the modest stipend, or both.  

In my lab, most of the UNDERGRADUATES are volunteers who are seeking to gain research experience for some facet related to their future career.  But, in the way I wrote these stipend positions into the grant, the undergraduate students I hire will become "Student Research Leaders" where they will help me and others in the lab with organizing and communicating with the different research teams... as well as be part of one or more research teams.  And, in the letters of recommendation I often write for a plethora of my students, these will have the designation of having been a "Student Research Leader" embedded within the letter I write for them in addition to any potential co-author status they might earn as well.   

While it is fun to interview them, it is often hard to choose the ones who get the "stipend".  There are often so many eager applicants.... all hoping, that it is challenging.  I also require a writing sample from each applicant, in addition to their resume.  But, during the interview.... if they seem to have promise.... I let them know that while I have only a limited number of stipend positions.... that if they ARE NOT selected for a stipend position, that I would be happy to have them join the team in a volunteer fashion if they would like to do so. 

• Because it was Monday, and I was not sure how many miles I could get in on the big teaching day of Tuesday...... I ran 16.6 miles (~27 km) today.  I am a bit sore, but not too bad.  I am wondering if I might be able to screw up the courage to take a stab at doing a true marathon run (26.2 miles; 42 km) at least one time this Summer?  If I were to be able to do that.... I would be pretty damn amazed.  I have been contemplating trying it.  
• I am reading and learning about the "Circle of Fifths" which is a music concept related to composition.  It is fascinating and is giving me a lot of food for thought in terms of some music activities I would like to pursue. 
• Pipes?  What can I say?  They never leave my mind, and the memories of their beauty and charm help me to fall asleep at night.  And, reliving the memory of the perfect experience at Iwan Ries too... just so vivid and pleasant.

PipeTobacco

VW Bug

 

I had the very distinct pleasure this morning during my run, of seeing a fellow come up to a traffic light I was at (preparing to cross) who was driving a fully restored, Volkswagen Beetle that was either a 1965 or a 1966 (those two years are so close together in appearance that they are hard to discern, even though I can differentiate most years of the Beetle from 1949 through 1977 with relative ease).  It was beautiful in all regards.  Unlike the image I have posted here, the color of the beast I saw was of the deeper turquoise color that was available in that era.  

I have always had a fascination with VW Beetles, and owned two of them (sequentially) during my much younger years.  They were wonderful to drive (other than in the Winter, due to their almost non-existent heating system), and I always liked their quirky charm.  I have been happy seeing VW Beetles while I watch reruns of Canon and also reruns of Mannix.... but seeing one in person, puttering down the road was an added treat.  And, just as happy and unexpected an occurrence, the fellow who was driving the vehicle was smoking a pipe!  I was able to discern a whiff of the extremely pleasant aroma of his pipe tobacco as well.... it was some type of vanilla-tinctured leaf.  Very, very pleasant an aroma.  The simple aroma caused a cascade of beautiful memories to flood through my thoughts.  I believe this fellow may be the first pipe smoker I have seen in person (outside of Iwan Ries in Chicago) since at least a year before the pandemic started.  He was a grey-haired, grey bearded fellow, of a similar age to myself. 

• 9.2 miles (~15 km) this morning to finish out my mileage goal for the week.  Two days of not having to hoof a lot of miles awaits me!  
• I am over 1/2 of the needed miles to "Run the Year" as well.  This means, if I can keep up this pace, I should hit 2,023 miles sometime in October..... I think. 
• I am working on my goals of becoming more patient, and less angry.  When I listened to the priest's discussion again of the deadly sin of anger and the virtue of patience again..... it really rang so very true to me, that it has helped in my resolve to keep TRYING to let anger go in my life.  While there may be circumstances that could justifiably result in surges of anger in my daily life.... I have to keep firmly at the forefront of my mind that the anger I feel does not a) do me any good, b) does not do others any good, and c) does not help me to be of service to others.  In the heat of various moments, those three things are hard to keep in mind.... but I can work to better keep that sort of focus.  If I can learn to wrangle in my own emotions better, I should be able to foster in myself greater patience.
• My wife and I were able to meet up for lunch today, which was extremely pleasant.  The place we dined at had a quite interesting offering of vegan "mushroom & cabbage, chipotle soft tacos"  That is what I chose, and it was quite delicious!  My wife had one of her favorites as well, she had a beef stir-fry.  

PipeTobacco

Stymied

 

I have been feeling a bit stymied for several reasons the last several days.... that is to a large extent why I have been so limited in my writing.  But, I have been trying to work through those feelings and am trying to return to my more preferred consistent pattern.

Running:

14. 2 miles (22.9km) on Monday.

6.2 miles (10km) on Tuesday.

14.5 miles (23.3km) on Wednesday.

6.2 miles (10km) this morning (Thursday).  

Yesterday, I spent roughly ~4.5 hours in the brutal sun and heat (~90 degrees F (32.2 degrees C)) planting our garden with my wife.  To avoid sunburn I was adorned with a long sleeved shirt, long pants, and a huge brimmed hat..... and lots of sunscreen on my face, neck and hands.  My wife, who has a beautiful ability to tan needed no coverage of the above sort and was more comfortably attired.  

In our future crops this year, we have the standards of:

• Tomatoes (although this year we bought three different varieties with widely different dates of maturation so we can have tomatoes occurring through a longer period, rather than they all arriving at once). 
• Swiss Chard (favorite of mine)
• Basil (three plants this time so we can make a LOT of Pesto)
• Mint
• Parsley
• Acorn Squash
• Zuchinni
• Cabbage

Newcomers to our garden this year include:

• Cucumbers (we are going to try to grow them on a trellis)
• Cantaloupe (colloquially we call them "muskmelons") I love them and hope they do well .
• Onions
• Rutabaga
• and one Banana Pepper.... for years we have tried to grow bell peppers (we colloquially call them Green Peppers, regardless of color).... but have never had good success.  We thought we would try banana peppers because, even though we do not eat nearly as many of them as we do Bell Peppers, we like them, and thought maybe we might have some success.  I am rather doubtful though.  

Besides listening to Mass while I ran this morning.... when Mass concluded, the site somehow auto-fed into another taped talk from the site.  It happened to be part of series discussing the seven deadly sins and the opposing virtues we are meant to strive for.  The lecture I happened to stumble upon accidentally was about the deadly sin of ANGER and its opposing virtue of PATIENCE.  The priest giving the lecture was very thoughtful in his discussion, and I found it valuable, important, and moving.  I am hoping to listen again when not running and try to categorize some of the key dichotomies he talked about with regard to striving to become a better, more giving, more caring person.  The lecture gave me hope that I can potentially move to becoming the more giving, more caring person I WANT to be, rather than the person I am.  Focusing on being more patient is one very significant way I can begin this work to improve myself for others.  

Pipes..... I sure do miss them.  I know I am doing what I should do.  But, the memories of how delightful, how carefree, how invigorating they always were..... ARE robust, strong, solid and true memories of those beautiful earlier decades in my life.  They were and still are magical to me.  

 PipeTobacco