Seabright

Mon, Aug 10 Sort of a rocky weekend. The ending of the Las Rocas papers on Friday left me sort of melancholy. John Sully never got to see the property he bought in Big Sur. He never was able to get away from the mine, and, in fact, used those terms several times between Oct 24, 1929 and March 1934. He passed away in the Spring of 1934, from the stress and worry of trying to keep his mine operating, and his men with food on the table for their families. Jack and Lulu left Los Angeles in 1934--no work and no money made it impossible to stay. They moved to the little fishing hut on the Big Sur property, and Jack built them a tent-like extension to the one-room structure. They fished for food. When her husband John Sully died, Marjorie moved to West Virginia to stay with her grandparents, because there wasn't enough room in the little hut by the sea for her and 2 young sons. Later in the year, Jack Bloom took the money given to him by the CA Department of Highways as compensation for damage to the land caused by the building of Highway 1, and used it to build a house on the steep cliff heading down to the sea. This became Las Rocas, and eventually Marjorie with her sons moved back to the central coast, and lived in the lovely little house by the sea in Big Sur with her parents. Her son John M. Sully, my father, grew up there, and worshipped his grandfather Jack Bloom. They share a love of wild things, of cats, books, and roses. Eating paleo: Breakfast - eggs with spinach and bell peppers. Lunch - turkey chili with broccoli - thankfully unaffected by the onion recall. that would have been a 10-lunch cook-up down the drain! Dinner - the spousal unit lobbied strongly for fish tacos. I concurred. Snack - popsicle Daily exercise: Lots of yoga and stretching during my day-long workshop. Yay for Zoom with the camera off! Got in a walk, too, as well, also. 15 minutes in the neighborhood and finished with my head hangin' low, but got 'er done. Focus: On deck: learn stuff in the workshop. Update: it was great! now to execute on some of the stuff I learned. Doh!

Fri, Aug 7 Missed a day in there somehow. Eating paleo: Breakfast - eggs and sausage Lunch - salad...but i didn't feel like finishing it Dinner - chicken kabobs and veggies. and ollallieberry pie, unfortunately. but it was good. Snack - popsicle Daily exercise: Nada Focus: On deck: call about the van. Update: called about the van. Side challenges: Research and write a bit of the next article. Nada. Fill in the easy parts of the trust prep worksheet. Done! Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Done!

Wed, Aug 5 Had a really good talk yesterday with the spousal unit about needing more of his support in the grocery-shopping-having-food-on-hand-so-lunch-isn't-just-a-bunch-of-clif-bars-and-dinner-isn't-the-third-trip-of-the-week-to-taqueria-vallarta area. He definitely concurred, and will be stepping up in the lending-a-hand department. We're both tired and strung out, and that's fer dang shur. No one's fault, we're a team. We just need to focus focus focus. Sometimes it's tricky for me to ask for help, even from someone who's legally obligated to lend a hand. 🙂 Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs with bells and spins Lunch - FABULOUS cobb salad from The Buttery (pick up phone order). scraped off the cheese. Dinner - the last of the turkey chili and broc from my cook-up 2 weeks ago. that was not too hard, so i'm a-thinkin' to do another such cook-up creature this weekend Snack - lime popsicle. 60 cals. side note: the back of the popsicle box says one serving is two 'sicles. kah-razy. Daily exercise: Lots of walking around and up and down the stairs cleaning up. i'm feeling like my energy is pretty much back, though. i'll see how the weekend goes. Focus: On deck: Forward movement on that one article. Ask MHV for an opinion. Update: Asked for the opinion and got the thumbs up along with a way forward. Side challenges: Research and write a bit of the next article. Not done. Fill in the easy parts of the trust prep worksheet. Not done. Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Not done.

Tues, Aug 4 Recap of the last few days: Some energy ups and downs Some weird news on the job front Some unsettled mental outlook-ish stuff to work through Where am I going? I don't quite know. What does it matter Where people go? Down to the woods Where the bluebells grown. Anywhere! Anywhere! I don't know. Tomorrow will be better.

Fri, July 31 Slept pretty well last night, even though I had a bit of trouble shaking off yesterday's conversation. Focused on the 'not my business and not something I can influence any longer' aspect of it, and snuggled with baby Dolly instead. Woke up early on my own, and had enough energy to revisit the ol' morning routine. Yay for me! Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrams with bells and spin Lunch - turkey chili and broc Dinner - grilled chicken and veggies Snack - lime popsicle. man I love those things. Daily exercise: Hey! Did a bit of yoga this morning. Plus, meditated and wrote my 3 pages. That's pretty much it. Best of intentions... Focus: On deck: I have a write-up to get to, and a couple of notes that I've been putting off for way too long. I've got the time, just need to focus focus focus. Update: Did the write-up and one of the notes. Yay for me! Side challenges: Take and pass the AAA driving course exam. Last try. This thing is rigged. I'm done. Research and write a bit of the article. Not done. Fill in the easy parts of the trust prep worksheet. Not done. Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Not done.

Thurs, July 30 The tough convo happened first thing this morning. It went okay. I stayed focused and stuck to my talking points and didn't say too much. I was pretty dejected afterwards, though, and found it difficult to focus the rest of the day. Working now on how to overcome this bit of adversity. Several paths forward for me--and the choice is mine. Focus. Focus. Focus. Eating paleo: Breakfast - Clif bar in the am because I was running late, followed by eggs and sausage. Lunch - turkey chili and broc Dinner - turkey burger and broc - good thing i like broc. Snack - lime popsicle Daily exercise: Instead of walking at lunchtime, I spent my break sort of, you know, ruminating. I'm surprisingly fatigued after my double-walkage yesterday. Focus: None. Boo. Side challenges: Take and pass the AAA driving course exam. Last try. Not done. Fill in the easy parts of the trust prep worksheet. Not done. Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Not done.

Wed, July 29 A couple of tough conversations on the schedule for today, kicking off with the toughest in about 20 minutes. I need to focus on staying calm, staying factual, staying helpful, and deep listening. Focus. Focus. Focus. Eating paleo: Breakfast - eggs with spinach and red bell peppers. Lunch - turkey chili and broc Dinner - grilled chicken with bell peppers, onions, and asparagus Snacks - lime popsicle and 2 Clif Bars. Daily exercise: Lunchtime walk. Added a block. Evening walk in the redwoods. The tiniest little hill really got me, but it felt good to be out. Focus: On deck: get through the convos, get to the grocery store for dinner fixin's, read first part of that one article. Update: difficult convo put off to Thursday, didn't get to the article, but did get to the grocery store. Side challenges: Take and pass the AAA driving course exam. Last try. Not done. Locate and download trust prep worksheet. DONE! Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Not done. Had meeting after 3pm get canceled, so took the afternoon off and went up to the redwoods for that walk. Worth the delay on everything else.

cd667! good morning! good morning! Thanks for the kind words about the estate stuff. After being on the front lines with my dad and his will and wishes, I saw first-hand how important upfront planning is. Got me a GREAT book (good ol' Nolo Press) and am now working my way through it, step by step. Since you do this for a living, you must have seen everything...and nothing. 😉

Tues, July 28 Lost a little focus yesterday and let myself be derailed by a technical issue. S'okay though. I got a lovely drive through the mountains out of it. 😉 Eating paleo: Breakfast - eggs with spinach and red bell peppers. Lunch - turkey chili and broc. Dinner - fish tacos. note to self: don't let a freezer full of lunches distract you from the fact that you don't have food in the house for dinner. Snack - lime popsicle. Daily exercise: Coughed alllllll freakin' night last night. Do I get credit for that? Exhausted when I got up this morning. Took a walk around the block!!!!! HUGE win!!!! Focus: On deck: research cross-functional partnership building. Update: identified one article, two books, and a really cool-looking workshop. Bookmarked, ordered, and calendared. Side challenges: Take and pass the AAA driving course exam. Last try. Not done. Name executor, b/u executor, beneficiaries, and decide if we want a pet trust. DONE! Primary: each other. Secondary: Jerry-kins. Alternate: Paul, until nieces and nephews are grown and someone from the younger set comes into play. Bennies: the brothers, passed to off-spring as necessary; project purr. Pet trust: sort of - leave kitty and dollars to entrusted to project purr for foster care. Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. DONE!

Mon, July 27 Good weekend. Finished the asset inventory, found a new place for that one aquatint that we both like, did a big cook-up to prep lunches for the week, and took a nice drive. Slept in Big Time on Saturday, but didn't need a nap on Sunday. Energy slooowly coming back. Now I just need to be sure I don't start thinking that I can go out and do a 10-mile hike. Weigh-in brought things down by just under a pound. Slowly heading in the right direction. Did end up ordering a pair of jeans for this heavier (hopefully temporarily) me. No need to freeze to death wearing the only stretch-y waist pair of pants I own. 😉 Heading into this week feeling good. Ready to stay focused and move a couple things forward! Okay! Bring on the awesomeness!! Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs with 3 sausage patties from the Harbor Cafe. Lunch - turkey chili with broc Dinner - grilled chicken with onions, bells, and broc Snack - lime popsicle Daily exercise: Light stretching in the morning. Focus: Time to focus work energy on learning to be a better communicator and cross-functional partner. I have no idea how to do that, so maybe today I'll do a little scholarly research. Plus, I'd like to do a little writing, even if it's only 20 mins worth. Plus, I think it's time to try a little walk around the block. Update: None of these things happened. Had a speaker fail, and ended up using my free time to go get another one. Side challenges: Take and pass the AAA driving course exam. Not done. Took it, but did not pass. I think this thing is rigged. Decide on next step in the estate planning process. DONE! Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Not done.

Fri, July 24 Felt a lot better this morning. Got up early. Still didn't really do anything, but got up early. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs with 3 sausage patties. again. stick with a winner! Lunch - the last of the chicken-and-broc cook-up. Dinner - fish taco night! again! Daily exercise: One more rest day I think. It's nice to feel some energy coming back. Focus: If nothing else, just do a little bit of writing. That's all I ask. Just one little bit. Update: I actually did quite a bit of writing. It's starting to look like the article might actually be more of a booklet. Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. DONE! Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. DONE! Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. DONE!

Thur, July 23 Fourth day of sleeping in and skipping the morning routine. Starting to have some energy again. Knocked off early yesterday and just went to bed, and that seemed to have really helped. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs with 3 sausage patties. meat-rich! Lunch - chicken and broc Dinner - 3 fish tacos on flour tortillas and a sh*t-ton of chips Daily exercise: Feeling like I've got some energy today, but I know now that's typically when I overdo. Going to wait another day before returning to anything even remotely resembling exercise. More coughing but not as bad. The inhaler helped. So did tons of water. Keeping this in the exercise column because, hoo boy, exhausting. Focus: Keep smiling for the troops. Write a little bit of that one thing. Update: Bit of a challenge to stay focused, particularly focused on smiling for the troops, after my less than stellar performance review. Ouch. Trying to stay calm and balanced and take what I heard to form actionable work goals for next year. You know, like a trained professional. The toughest part about something like this is that no matter how unjust you think something is, or that there are mitigating circumstances that you feel weren't taken into account, your best approach is to say thanks for the feedback and maybe something like, this is great info to have and will really give me something to work on. and thanks for the feedback, too, as well, also. Anyway, I can always do better. And if there's a sub-par perception out there, then that's on me for not communicating properly. Time for a new approach! It's all good. (Well, not really, but I'm starting to get over it. ;-0) Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. Boo. I just couldn't bring myself to look at this again. Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. DONE! Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Skipped for tonight. Getting too lost and letting time get away from me. Watched kitten videos instead. 😉

Wed, July 22 Horrific coughing all night last night. Lungs feel inflamed and irritated--probably from all the Lysol we sprayed on the floor last night cleaning up an ant trail. Going to dig up an inhaler I was given a few years ago when I had all that eyeball trouble to see if it helps. Back to it! The excitingness and awesomeness of the day has begun!! Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrams with bells and spin. Lunch - roasted chicken w/broc Dinner - chicken fajita in a bowl with asparagus Snack - had another Clif bar. i think these things may be slowly killing me. last one for a while. Daily exercise: Slept in again after being up for hours with that horrid barking cough. Still dealing with dreadful fatigue. Coming along though. Hoping to feel up to a walk in a few days. Focus: On deck: Almost out of data for vid calls. Stay focused by switching back and forth today as a way to preserve the fabric of the universe until EOD Friday. Pick ONE element from the outline and write about it. It doesn't have to be thorough...or even very good. Just get 'er done. Update: Kept the lights on with the vid access. A couple more days to reset the cycle. Hoping to hang in there. Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. Will this never be over? On hold. This is the reason why I don't have any space left for work calls! Argh. Will postpone until I can do late at night with our crummy wifi. Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. Done! Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Done! I have things I want to do tomorrow. Lots of things. Now going to water some plants and then rest. See youse all on the flip flop.

Tues, July 21 Dreadful coughing all day, possibly from eating Clif Bars and veggie burger yesterday. It's exhausting. Lesson learned! Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrams with bells and spin Lunch - roasted chicken with broccoli Dinner - teriyaki chicken kabobs with double veggies Snack - 1 apricot Clif bar Daily exercise: Slept in until almost 8:30am. Made it out to my office just in time for the first thing. Coughed all day. I feel like this should be called 'exercise' and that I should get credit for this. Focus: On deck: Back-to-back video calls until 3:30pm. Breathe. Update: Made it in one piece! Didn't do much else, though. Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. Will this never be over? Not done. Just couldn't face it. Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. Pending. We'll see. Read the next installment of the Las Rocas papers. Not done. So exhausted from the calls, going to lie down and watch Jurassic World. ((Update: Thought I'd just take a peek at the next letter and then got lost for another hour. My great-grandmother Louise hurt her leg scrambling over the rocks and had to spend an extra 3 days in the little fishing hut before being able to climb out of the canyon.)) I have things I want to do tomorrow. Lots of things. Now going to water some plants and then rest. See youse all on the flip flop.

Mon, July 20 The weekend went well. Ate well the whole time, and finally got after the oak tree. Did the smart thing by resting on Sunday, instead of kicking myself all to hell and trying to do a mega hike. The mega hike will really have to wait until I'm better. Which I'm not. I'm not better. It's been almost 4 months since I was sick, and I'm still struggling with energy levels and a recurring cough. Getting better, though. I just need to remember that this is life-threatening stuff for a lot of people. The fact that I'm still upright and sentient is a win. Being sentient, FTW!! Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrams with bells and spin Lunch - tuna fish salad w/avocado instead of mayo, carrots, bell peppers, scallions, and lime Dinner - veggie burger on a bun, no sauce Snack - 2 Clif Bars Daily exercise: Just wrote in the ol' journal this am, but skipped yoga. Backing way off of everything for a bit. The fatigue last week was crushing. Gentle, gentle. 20 minute walk at lunch time. Tried to work in a small itty bitty hill. Almost killed me. Focus: On deck: Deliver final version of the other thing. First employee perf eval - leave 'em smiling. Jot down starter notes of the new article. You know the one. Update: Final version of the thing now done and off to be posted somewhere or other. Did my first perf evaluation. It went okay, I left him smiling, but I learned a couple of things to adjust for the next one. Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. Will this never be over? DONE! Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. DONE! Read the info on Las Rocas. DONE! The Las Rocas papers are fascinating! I couldn't stop reading. The back-and-forth between my great-grandfather and my grandfather about purchasing a piece of property along the Big Sur coast is really something (246 pages-worth of something). The deal closed on Oct 24, 1929. Yikes! I'm up to Jan 1931, and things aren't going well at the copper mine for John M. Sully, Jack Bloom is hurting for money and lost 45 pounds as a result of the having the flu, and there are descriptions of unemployment camps set up south of Monterey by the Department of Highways to provide labor to build Highway One. My 7-month-old father is described in one line as being '17 pounds and all smiles.' 398 pages to go. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Fri, July 17 Eating paleo: Breakfast - basic breakfast from the harbor cafe. scrambled eggs, hold the toast and taters, extra sausage patty. Lunch - roasted chicken and broccoli Dinner - turkey burger and broccoli Daily exercise: Let myself sleep in until 7:30am, so skipped yoga today. 20-minute walk just before lunch. Focus: On deck: Deliver final article of that one thing, and kick out a sh*tty first draft of that other thing. Update: Did it! Did 'em both! Final article delivered to be published, and first draft of the other thing is done and turned out to be not so sh*tty after all. Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. DONE! Ye gods, this is mind-numbing. Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. DONE! Take the seascape to the framing folks and pick out something that stays within the ol' budget. DONE! The seascape is special to me. I remember it hanging in my grandmother's study, and then in my father's home after she passed. I hung it up for him in his little living room in the first retirement living situation we were in, before we realized he could no longer be independent. Then I hung it up for him in his lovely little studio apartment in the memory care place we moved to 5 months later. 8 weeks after that, we went to the hospital and from there to a tiny little home and board, and I hung it up for him over his bed there. When my brothers and I were going through items together (on a zoom, during a pandemic, a story in itself), when the seascape came up I said, 'This is the only thing I would like to have. If you all want everything else, I'm fine with that, but this is the one thing that I would like to have.' They all laughed and said they bowed to my request. 🙂 And so I took it to be cleaned and gently restored. It's not a super-valuable piece, although we did find that the artist was active in the 1950's, lived in Carmel-by-the-Sea, is known for his seascapes, and was a personal friend of my grandmother's. His works are of medium value, depending on the size and subject of the piece. The original frame was truly hideous. It deserves better. I will hang it in my office, by my desk, where I can see it every day.

Thur, July 16 Still fatigued, but feeling better. My dad passed away 2 months ago. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs, with spinach and bell peppers. 1 cup coffee. Lunch - cobb salad, no cheese. Dinner - fish tacos with guts scooped out of the corn tortillas and put into flour tortillas. negated this move by eating a bunch of chips. I felt a lot better after eating dinner. Maybe I just need a way to up my carb intake? Bring on the broccoli!! Daily exercise: Yoga - 20 mins twist sequence. Walk - 20 mins around the neighborhood. Exhausted and really had to force myself. Walk - 20-minute evening walk in the old growth redwood loop. I could stare up at these giants all day! Ended day feeling refreshed. Focus: On deck: another big video call day, with back-to-back meetings all day long. stay focused on staying perky for the team. Update: done. last meeting just wrapped up. cutting out early so i can go lie down. Side challenges: On hold one more day. Still seriously tired.

Wed, July 15 After being so exhausted yesterday, giving myself a break today. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs, with spinach and bell peppers. 1 cup coffee. Lunch - chicken and broccoli from the cook-up. Snack - lime popsicle. Dinner - turkey burger with broccoli (no bun) Daily exercise: Slept in and skipped everything. Focus: On deck: Gird my loins and go to the doctor. It's a risk, but it's better than ending up having to have a hip replacement. Update: Did it! So nervous I could hear my stomach roiling, but got my mask on and did the thing. Side challenges: On hold to give myself a break today. Looking forward to being back to it tomorrow! Stay tuned for further awesomeness.

Tues, July 14 Did my side challenge activities after work yesterday. First time doing anything at afterwork other than eating and watching tv since March. Exhausted afterwards, which was alarming. Not sure if it was mental exhaustion from changing up the routine, or genuine physical fatigue. Something to keep an eye on. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs, with spinach and bell peppers. 1/2 cup coffee. Lunch - chicken strips, diet coke. boo. Dinner - veggie burger on a whole wheat bun, no sauce, no fries. yay. Daily exercise: Yoga. 20 minutes standing poses sequence. Focus: On deck: Stay focused during my 30 mins of free time today and get the chicken in the oven. Lunch will have to be another pickup from the Buttery today. Update: Did it! 30 mins in the am got it in the oven; 30 mins in the pm assembled the lunches and got 'em in the freezer. exhausted at the end of the day and went to bed at 8:30pm. Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. Nope. Bike ride after work. It can be super short. A gesture, if you will. Nope. Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. Nope. Call art restoration lady if she hasn't called back. DONE! Well and truly bone-tired at the end of the day. Could hardly stand up. Skipped everything but the essentials, was able to eat what the spousal unit brought home from his foraging expedition, and then collapsed.

Mon, July 13 Weekend update: Great job with the eating on Saturday, crummy eating on Sunday, and weight had sneaked up a bit at my weigh-in. I ATTACKED that massive rose in the back, though, and chopped that sucker down to it's framework. All set up now for a spectacular bloom in the Spring. Today: On-deck for a super-busy, meeting-rich day. I'll need to focus to do all the things. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs, with spinach and bell peppers. 1/2 cup coffee. Lunch - Cobb salad, hold the cheese Snack - lime popsicle Dinner - grilled chicken and veggies. 1/2 glass red wine. Daily exercise: Yoga. 20 minutes hip mobility sequence. Walk around the neighborhood. About 20 minutes. Focus: On deck: Get through the scary thing. Really, my part is only maybe 2 minutes-worth of an hour-long presentation. That's 120 seconds. I can do this. Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. DONE! Fill in at least one more line of the asset inventory worksheet. DONE! Call art restoration lady. DONE!

Fri, July 10 Focus. Focus. Focus. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs, with sausage and hash browns. 1 cup coffee. Lunch - cobb salad, but scooped out the gorgonzola and dumped it. Dinner - grilled chicken kabobs with extra veggies Snack - lime popsicle Daily exercise: Yoga. 20 minutes forward-bend sequence. Focus: Finished draft of that thing! Yay for me! Side challenges: Do next module of AAA driving course. DONE! Vacuum my office. DONE! Fill in at least one line of the asset inventory worksheet. DONE! Donate books to Project Purr. Sorta done. They are now in the car for the next time I'm near their shop.

Thanks so much for the kind words, Mr. Enduring. I miss my dad so much, but my heart is filled with the happy times. 😉 But wait. What? YOU HAVE A SCAMP???? You've been holding out on me all this time! Soon I shall pepper you with questions about your favorite space-saving techniques. Brace yourself. 😉

Thur, July 9 Worst. Lunch. Ever. Contributed to crashing big time in the afternoon, which led to a taco-rich dinner. Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs, with spinach, bell peppers, and onions. 1/3 cup coffee. Lunch - last of the frozen turkey dinner thingies. now must find alternative, 'cause I'm out. Which is a good thing. Dinner - 3 fish tacos, guts scooped out of the double corn tortillas and put into single flour ones. And chips. And 1/3 glass of red wine. Snack - lime popsicle. Daily exercise: Yoga. 20 minutes back-bend sequence. Focus: Kept it together through a full day of video calls. Conflicting priorities but stayed focussed on the most important things and got 'em done. Side challenges: Welcome new people to team and get them set up. DONE! Do next module of AAA driving course. DONE! Find a place for the vacuum cleaner. DONE! Download the asset inventory spreadsheet. DONE! Call Dr. Mac. DONE!

Wed, July 8 Returning to my old format, because it really really helps with moving forward. Yay for me! Eating paleo: Breakfast - scrambled eggs, with spinach, bell peppers, and onions. 1/3 cup coffee. Lunch - frozen turkey dinner thingie. it had 'dressing' (bread) and baked apples with cinnamon (sugar). delicious, but need an alternative. Dinner - grilled chicken with broccoli, onions, and bell peppers. 1/2 glass red wine. Snack - lime popsicle. Daily exercise: Yoga. 20 minutes twist sequence. Pre-lunch walk. About 20 minutes. Post-work walk in the redwoods. About 20 minutes. Focus: Battle log update. 😉 Side challenges: Draft outline of UI channel style guide content. DONE! Write note to niece and nephew (cuddling up to next gen possible POAs). DONE! Write thank you note to hospice. DONE! Respond to 2 recruiters from other companies ('cause ya never know). DONE! Do next module of AAA driving course.

Wed July 8 Starting to feel better. I took all of last week off, and even though we can't actually go anywhere, it made a huge difference. Meditation, yoga, and journaling every morning, a couple of good hikes, and several long drives along the coast. I feel like I can breathe again. Here are some things, in no particular order: Have been steady-eddy with my morning routine, and both the meditation and yoga sessions are now up to 20 mins each. Down to 1/3 cup of coffee in the morning with breakfast. Taking walks at lunchtime during the work week pretty consistently. Put the bike rack on the car, and taking the mountain bike for an overhaul and safety check this afternoon. I realized today that the last time I road my bike was just before Dad came into my care. It feels good to have the energy and the want-to to ride again. Gained a lot of weight in the last few weeks. Sigh. Feeling good about being on the right track to slowly drop it, though, bit by bit, through lifestyle eating changes. Weigh-ins now happening Sunday mornings to track success of each bit-by-bit change. We put an order in and a deposit down on a Scamp. (!!!!!! <- Look at how calmly I said that! We've been wanting a Scamp for YEARS. It won't be built and delivered until next February, but I'm already planning to try working from a campground at some point to see how that goes.) I feel good. Relaxed. Hopeful. OH! And I finally read the estate planning book. Just finished it last night. Next up: asset inventory. Okay! More later. Stay tuned for future awesomeness.