One: Coyotes: Lots of coyote sightings around here lately. Early Wednesday morning there was a pair under my balcony making a lot of weird sounds. I stood and watched them for a while as they roamed back and forth on the driveway of the building across from me. I think they were engaged in a mating ritual.

Spotted another fine specimen from the car Wednesday afternoon just after leaving the house. It was right next to the road and on the golf course. There were golfers on the fairway and lots of traffic, but the coyote was just standing there calmly looking around.

Yesterday I learned of a woman who was walking her two dogs this week and was surrounded by some coyotes. Fortunately, another walker came up with his big dog in time to scare them off. This is not the first time this has happened. I know another woman who was forced to shelter in a building’s entry way and call security because a pack had surrounded her.

I took Brindy out early this morning as it is supposed to start raining soon. I don’t like going out before it gets light, so it was a very short walk. As I was heading back to the front door, a coyote started howling from the bushes nearby.

Two: Wednesday afternoon I bought a rotisserie chicken for the very first time. I knew they were big sellers at Costco and such, but I had just assumed people bought them for the convenience of not having to cook a chicken; I did not realize they were soooooo delicious! I will definitely be buying more of these in the future as there is no way I can replicate that taste at home.

Three: Tired of dealing with sponges that take forever to soften up after just a few uses? Of wondering how to clean and disinfect said sponge? Of using way too many paper towels? Let me introduce you to the wonders of the Swedish dishcloth!

I don’t know why these wonderful little items are not better known. They clean dishes like a sponge. They pick up spills like a paper towel. They dry in no time and, conversely, they soften back up the instant the water hits them. Best of all, when it’s dirty, you just throw it in the washing machine. I can’t imagine ever doing without these again. Buy some; you’ll thank me!

I didn’t write anything over the past couple of weeks because I was too upset by current events to post any coherent thoughts. What I had to say seemed either too trivial to mention — like how I am learning to brew my tea — to foaming-at-the-mouth diatribes about what it means to take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

Here’s hoping calmness prevails and I can write some things without wanting to rant!

These images are from slides that my dad, Kimon, took. It was rare to have him in a picture; he was always behind the camera. My mom used to claim that he always got her backside at Christmas; and, sure enough, that’s her in the picture with me!

42 years ago this month, I graduated from Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island:

Hard to believe I worked up the courage to do something so different from what was expected of a good Seventh-day Adventist girl!

At 6:30 this morning, just as I was getting ready to go for my walk, Brindy sprinted for the front porch and I heard coyotes howling. Not somewhere off in the distance, as often happens, but really close. Here’s our view of the practice range from earlier in the year:

And here’s the view this morning:

There are at least 7 coyotes in this picture and there might have been a couple more out of the picture. This is why when I walk Brindy by myself, I stick to the main roads. Of course, that road in the background, behind the first row of trees, IS the main road. We went for a very short walk this morning!

Mom had the last couple of stitches taken out yesterday afternoon and the eye is feeling great.

This whole process started when we switched to a new eye doctor. We weren’t thrilled with our previous ophthalmologist to begin with. Then Covid restrictions hit and they wouldn’t allow me to go in with her during her visit. As most of you know, even with her hearing aids, mom doesn’t always hear well and I like to be with her when she’s given instructions or information. Mom’s takeaway from the visit was that he said “Well, I hope you don’t go blind”. I was just a bit incensed when I heard this and we started looking for a new doctor.

Went to the new doc at the end of October. What a difference! The facilities, the waiting room, and, especially, the staff were a huge improvement. Most importantly, the doc informed mom that she was not going blind and would not be going blind during her life time. Yes, she does have some macular degeneration, but nothing to worry about at her age. What a relief!

In addition to giving her the good news about not going blind, the doctor also asked her if she had any trouble with her left eye feeling irritated. Her answer was “Yes, it constantly feels like there’s an eyelash in it”. Turns out this is exactly what was wrong: her lower eyelid was turning inward and, thus, the lashes were rubbing against her eye.

We scheduled surgery for the problem and mom came through it like the trooper she is. Her relief from the rubbing was immediate. The first day after surgery was painful for her, mostly because we couldn’t find anything light enough to put on the incision to ice it down. Everything we tried was too awkward or too heavy. Then I finally hit on the idea of freezing a damp handkerchief; that worked wonderfully.

Mom had some of the stitches taken out about 10 days after the surgery. The rest got taken out yesterday. She had quite a shiner, but almost all the bruising is now gone and her eye feels waaaaaay better. Just shows you what a difference the right professional can make.