Say What?

I just had Charlie out for an aborted walk. Even he is tired of our very cool weather and wanted to turn for home after barely getting started. He didn't have to ask me twice. I don't mind the cool temps (39ºf / 4ºc) as much as I mind the stiff wind. For all of my unhappiness with the weather, I haven't allowed it to slow my roll too much. I've managed to golf 4 times in the past 8 days. There's a benefit to this cool weather if you don't mind being out in it. I golfed 18 holes yesterday in 2 hours and 36 minutes! A typical round of golf is closer to 4 hours but there was nobody in front of me to slow me down. It's been nice to be on the links again. I had my 6-month checkup with my dermatologist a couple of weeks ago. She sent off two samples of blemishes, one from each calf, to be evaluated for cancer. One of the areas came back positive for basal cell skin cancer and the other came back positive for squamous cell skin cancer. They're both very treatab...

My energy reserves are at low tide today. I had plans to get out and walk this morning, followed by a TNG ride with friends in Northfield tonight, but I'm lying low. It's a cool, blustery, and overcast afternoon. I just don't have it in me to battle the wind tonight. My body thanks me because I've not taken a day off from working out since the end of January. My meditation streak remains alive at 57 consecutive days.  I'm enjoying my walks so much lately, especially now that most of the walking paths are clear of snow and ice. While on my walks, I've been listening to books on my Audible app. Most of what I've been listening to has been books related to Christianity as I try to make sense of my faltering beliefs: When Everything's on Fire ,  Do I Stay Christian , and The Case for Christ . They're thought-provoking books, but still, I find myself where I was before reading them; leaning ever more in the direction of agnosticism with a budding fascinat...

It's been 3 years since my last cluster headache phase, leaving me with a foreboding sense that another round of headaches can't be too far off. I'm glad that I've made it this long free from them because ten years ago I could expect a cycle of headaches to appear every 15 months, give or take a few months. They're incredibly disruptive to my life, leaving me anxious as I await the next attack and leaving me somewhat tethered to an O2 tank for relief from a headache once it starts. (High doses of oxygen at the rate of 15 liters per minute can work miracles at aborting a cluster headache attack.) The search function of my blog will reveal some extensive writings I've done about my headaches, or, you can read this post  from 8 years ago which will give you an idea of what they are. Toward the end of the post I linked to above, I talk about psilocybin mushrooms and LSD and the success that's been had by the use of these psychedelics in aborting headache phase...

We had to take Charlie to the vet a couple of years ago because of a persistent cough. At the time, the vet told us it was esophageal collapse; a not uncommon condition in dogs, possibly brought on by years of using a collar and leash when walking him. She said it wasn't a fatal condition and then prescribed prednisone to see if that would help. When it didn't, she gave us oxycodone to use as necessary. We used the drug a few times and neither of us liked the way it left him tired and not his normal self.  Charlie's coughing has gotten worse in the past few months so Tammy went online to research the matter more. She found another possibility of what is happening with him; a condition called acid reflux , with the remedy being Pepcid or another long-lasting antacid. He's been on the drug for about 5 days and the coughing has mostly stopped. We're happy for our little guy. Also, when the condition was first diagnosed we immediately stopped using his collar and switch...

This blog post dovetails with my previous entry as I continue to ponder life—my life, in search of answers that likely won't be revealed to me until my time here is done, if then. I've been in a very contemplative place for at least the past two years while I watch helplessly as the years of my life pass by, each one faster than the one that preceded it. Contemplation is one of my superpowers, if only for my benefit. Along with my preoccupation with contemplating my life and all of its twists and turns and lessons, my thoughts are beginning to dwell more and more on life beyond this one and what that might look like. It was so much easier when I took shelter in my Christian faith, not really bothering to seriously consider any other alternative than one where I leave my physical body and pass through a tunnel of white light into the arms of Jesus, to dwell with other believers as we sing songs of praise to God. It was a very simple way of looking at life and death; so much so ...

This blog update is a follow-up to a post I made on Facebook last night. The first paragraph below was what I posted. What I'm about to write is personal, but I share it with the hope that it will help others see another side they may not appreciate with respect to those of us who have chosen to leave organized religion or any belief system we may have walked away from. I've always been a very spiritual person, seeking after God and in conversation with this entity throughout the day, whatever it may be. If you ever see me out walking and it looks like I'm talking to myself, I'm likely in conversation with God. Some of what I say here in this post may strike some as offensive. That's not my intention, but I don't know how to sugarcoat this to make it more acceptable to you. Thank you for hearing me out. A little more than 15 years ago, when Rachel turned 16, Tammy, Rachel, and I got Christian fish ankle tattoos to signify our walk with Jesus. I liked it—we all d...

Tammy is 11 weeks post-op from her hip replacement surgery and is pretty much back to normal. She was given the green light a few days ago to resume her Zumba workouts. I'm super happy for her because I know how important those workouts are for her. She's happy as well. It's been a few years since she had to stop exercising due to hip pain. We braved some near-blizzard conditions two weeks ago to take a mixology class at Norseman Distillery in Minneapolis. It was a gift Tammy had surprised me with one year ago and it was about to expire. I've put so little time into learning what goes into various drinks so this was all new to me. It was a lot of fun—so much so that we're talking about taking Mixology 2 as a follow-up.  We had the most beautiful snowfall earlier this week. Over two days, about 20" (50cm) of tree-clinging snow blanketed the area and because there was very little wind, most of what was clinging to the trees is still hanging on, making a walk th...