Small Thoughts
When I joined this platform at the start of the year, I wasn’t sure where this experiment would take me. What’s emerging is a mosaic of my year, mainly pictures and a daily diary of focused (and sometimes random) thoughts. For several years my wife has used the “One Second Every Day” app - and at the end of each year, she has evocative memory capsule. This platform - and blog - may serve that function for me. I’ve committed to posting every day, and stuck with it so far. At the end of the year, the accumulation of small thoughts may add up to something meaningful.
Today felt like the first “normal” day in a while. Walked Ruby this morning. Did a few hours of work, including a few Zoom calls. Lunch at home. Then pickleball and my first visit to the weight room in several weeks. Getting ready to make dinner at home and settle in for some reading and TV. A return to routine. A good day.
We’re already two months into 2026 and well past “New Year’s resolutions.” Time for me to recommit to exercise and a healthy diet. That means cardio, resistance training, flexibility work, and continued embrace of stoic values. Lots of work ahead.
Ok. Quite the Saturday. Let’s review the bidding. We go to war with Iran while: we’re running Venezuela, we have a military embargo of Cuba, we’re supporting Mexico in a war on drug cartels, ICE is occupying US cities, we’ve got designs on Greenland, and we’ve threatened several other countries. I guess this is one way to campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize. But remind me again how this is America First?
We spent one last night on the road, at our daughter’s house in Washington, DC. She and her husband were wonderful hosts and it was lovely to spend time with them. At the same time, we weary travelers are ready to be home.
Tonight, as we continued our journey home, we stopped off in our old Takoma Park neighborhood for a lovely dinner with friends at Cielo Rojo. Tomorrow, we’ll be back in Easton, and back to our welcome routines.
On the way back north, we stopped for a couple of nights outside Charlottesville, VA, and enjoyed a walk in the woods.
Though we only got a few hours above fifty degrees (not kidding), we still enjoyed our time in South Carolina. We traded the snow storm in the mid-Atlantic for views like this:
Must say, I got a chuckle out of this:
With snow hitting the mid-Atlantic, we spent a lovely afternoon at the Murrell’s Inlet (SC) Marsh Walk.
Now in South Carolina comes news of a major snowstorm forecast for home - 10-13 inches is the prediction. We may not have true spring weather, but overcast skies and rain sure beat a foot of snow.
Driving south on I-95 you begin seeing billboards for the South of the Border rest stop as you approach the South Carolina state line. Seems wildly inappropriate considering what’s currently happening in this country. (Actually it was inappropriate even before Trump’s mass deportation efforts.)
First day of our long-awaited Southern Road Trip. I’m not sure how far we’ll have to go to reach warm weather, but I can tell you it’s not in Richmond. Cold, wet, grey - more winter than winter. Here’s hoping for something better in the Carolinas.
Strangest thing happened today. I ordered Bernard Darwin’s autobiography from ThriftBooks. It arrived and the cover looked right but inside was Physique and Metaphysique Kantiennes by Jules Vuillemin (in French!). Not sure how such a thing happens, but I’m looking forward to ThriftBooks explanation.
Got word yesterday that my very reliable 2009 Toyota Highlander needs several thousand dollars of age-related repairs. Not unexpected, but still… With ChatGPT’s help, I started a repair/replace analysis, final decision TBD. But I have to say it’s shocking how much it costs to buy or lease a new car.
A break in the weather; perhaps a turn towards spring. But for sanity’s sake, I’m mentally preparing for six more weeks of winter. (Just imagine, in a few short months, I’ll be complaining about the heat!)
It’s a special day indeed - colonoscopy prep day! Comes once every five years for me. At least I have the propofol to look forward to… gonna ask the anesthesiologist to “take me down slow.”
First day in months it’s been above 50 degrees. It gives me hope that spring is out there somewhere.
Chipping away at my desk, listening to some James McMurtry. I’m struck by the literary quality of his songs. Like father, like son I suppose.
Who would have ever thought that after 30+ years my wife and I would find a sport that we both enjoy playing together? But I guess that’s the magic of Pickleball. (That’s assuming you’ll grant me that Pickleball is indeed a sport!)