Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #909 - Portland 1712.30

Liesel at Tin Shed 1712.30

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #909 - Portland 1712.30

Hi Mom,

Liesel and I went into Portland yesterday. We had a great time.

First, we parked about half a mile from Pistil's Nursery on Mississippi. The walk on the streets of Portland is becoming familiar and comfortable. I am finding that feeling of connection and community more and more. For one thing, people are really nice! I witnessed many spontaneous conversations between people, and many acts of kindness.

After the nursery, where we bought gifts for Adam Kemp, our soon to be son-in-law, we went to a cute little boutique that sells chocolate, pink Himalyan salt, and even Gwen Frostic cards as I previously featured:

http://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2017/09/hey-mom-talking-to-my-mother-794.html

This time the the comic book store was open, Bridge City Comics; Liesel insisted on getting me another Christmas gift, so I asked her to buy me Alan Moore's Jerusalem but in a three volume set that has broken the huge text (1280 pages) into three volumes.

We returned to the car and drove to the neighborhood where her salon is located so as to be close by for her appointment.

After some deliberating, we settled on the Tin Shed for some dinner, and it's a good thing we did. Liesel's hamburger was the best she has ever had in her life. This "best of" seems to be the way of things lately. Life is rich with heavy cream.

After making sure she was settled in for her salon appointment, and meeting her stylist, I set up a block up the street for some computering (how to best use Git Hub) at Barista and had some delicious coffee.

After her appointment, I wanted to check out Les Caves, but it was full, so we ended up having some dessert at Petite Provence, where I had "lemon graffiti," a lemon filled chocolate cake, which was delicious. I did not photograph the cake, but many other aspects of our day are photo-documented here.

On an unrelated note, though one site is a PDX business, this:

I have found this cool blog: THE HONEST COURTESAN and this publisher: Microcosm Publishing, which also hosts a blog.

Just thought I would put these things here for future reference, and for your reference, reader, if you wish. Right, Mom?

Another side note, apparently Portland sites share a PDX domain as all the restaurant name in the sites are followed by pdx.com in the URL.

These are days, that you'll remember...

Liesel's Salon on the right - Alberta Station interior

Dessert after salon.

Tin Shed Menu

Barista coffee shop

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you, Mom.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 911 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.31 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #908 - Photos - Vancouver - Various December 2017

Me and Ellory 1712.26

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #908 - Photos - Vancouver - Various December 2017

Hi Mom,

This blog post is a very unexciting view of some recent photos, starting with this strange sausage photo of a gift wrapped in a way that you would have wrapped a similar present, though you would have done a much better job with the item.

Still, I thought of you, Mom, and decided to take a picture of my attempt at following your example with my wrapping.

Our Christmas is modest this year.

presents 1712.29

Ellory 1712.29

tried to catch her through the bars - 1712.29

Ellory in "nest" 1712.22

So I brought Liesel lunch yesterday. I sought out my own lunch thereafter and found this cool place, Fast Thai, right by New Seasons where I had to do some shopping.

I was going to go here, but it was very crowded and there was a wait. I decided to photograph it to remind me to give it a try again sometime soon.

More pictures of me and Ellory from the day after Christmas. It's a good thing I am not excessively vain as I think I look awful in these photos. Ellory is very happy, though.

Satchel - 1712.29 "Why, Dad? Why?"
Satchel is not found of Extreme Close Up

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you, Mom.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 910 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.30 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #907 - Music from a deep cavern in the distant past

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #907 - Music from a deep cavern in the distant past

Hi Mom,

Back to straight sharing mode. I came across this Bandcamp article in setting up Monday's music post, and so I saved it for this kind of an occasion, when I can get a quick share without much added preamble.

Not as much progress with the job search as I would like today as I brought Liesel lunch, which is important and something I cannot always do, and then I did a little light grocery and Christmas shopping as we have not done our Christmas exchange yet. Pictures tomorrow.

But for now, this interesting article and music.

https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/05/22/demen-nektyr-interview/

The Mysterious Demen Makes Music From a Deep Cavern in a Distant Past

There’s not a lot of information on the woman who records as Demen—and that’s by design. All that her label, Kranky, will offer is that her name is Irma Orm, and she’s from Stockholm. Beyond that, even Kranky has scant details. The label was initially contacted by Demen via email a couple of years ago, anonymously.

“There is no great thinking or planning behind me being anonymous,” Orm says in our interview—conducted, at her request, via email. “I am simply sharing only what I find relevant for the purpose of the project, and leaving out that which is not.”

At a time when social media puts a premium on being both constantly present and easily identifiable, Orm’s approach seems almost radical. Her insistence on anonymity means that the emphasis is put, first and foremost, on her music. Demen’s debut on Kranky, Nektyr, warrants that singular focus.

With a sound and feeling as shadowy as its murky cover art, Nektyr’s seven songs feel like messages from either a distant past or a deep cavern—or from a deep cavern, in the distant past. As Orm’s voice sings—coolly, calmly, swathed in reverb—dark tones and slow rhythms surround and envelop her. It might be lazy to say that music like this could only come from Scandinavia, but whatever images one might have of cold northern climes and existential solitude certainly apply.

Songs like “Niorum” and “Ambur” are at once quietly catchy and monuments to pure, total mood. Exploratory instrumentals like “Korridorer,” with its calm central keyboard figure (if it is, indeed, a keyboard) and its heartbeat-like conclusion, ramps up that atmosphere even further. In all, Nektyr manages the trick of sounding like something that could have been on late ’80s 4AD or ’90s Projekt, but never exactly sounds like any one thing. It is, simply, itself. Its songs summon grey skies, cold temperatures, and deep, deep melancholy, delicious and unnerving.

Orm offers little in terms of process, and won’t even say whether she records at home or in a studio. Instead, she says, “I am rearranging my setup, so all is in flux right now.” Her vision for Demen extends beyond her music. “I approached the work with great seriousness,” she says, “seeing the goal with a constant tunnel vision.”

It’s easy to imagine something like this being released to Bandcamp directly, stumbled across by fans via a random tag search. But working with Kranky, with its well-established reputation for the artistic and experimental, provided Orm with balance.

“There were a couple of reasons why I chose not to release the album on my own,” she says, “the main one being that I wanted to focus on working only on the creative content. So using the aid of a label felt necessary, in this case. Choosing to put the music into the context of any existing label is something of a compromise, but ultimately there is a lot of freedom in the context I’m in now.”

demen

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 909 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.29 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #906 - Christmas 1964 - Throwback Thursday - 1712.28

Me - Christmas 1964 - at the Delbridge's

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #906 - Christmas 1964 - Throwback Thursday - 1712.28

Hi Mom,

When I grew up, I wanted to be a fireman.

Not really. Astronaut. Dinosaur Hunting Archaeologist. Superhero. Police Detective. Lawyer. Writer. Film Director. Computer programmer. More or less in that order. Those were the goals. Those were the things I wanted to be when I grew up, even computer programmer, which I found as a love in high school. If only I had stayed on that path.

The photo seems to suggest fireman, so I went with it. Being funny.

The comment is apropos as I am spending all my time looking for work. JOB SEARCH.

Good thing to do on a rainy day. Future casting, like the boy in the hat.

Rainy day here today in the PacNW. Shut in, a bit. No walk for the dogs as I am disinclined to get soaking wet and feel chilled to the bone without going outside, which is not my usual blast furnace body heat issue.

Did some house cleaning, made myself some lunch, towel dried the puppies after kicking them out for potty. Things you would appreciate, Mom.

I am keeping to my low power mode brevity.

Also, the greater effort is going into the job search.

Thanks for stopping in.

Listening to this on repeat:

https://hypnagoguepodcast.com/2017/12/28/episode-226/

It's a good soundtrack for this day.

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you, Mom.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 908 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.28 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #905 - Top Ten Most Essential Skills

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #905 - Top Ten Most Essential Skills

Hi Mom,

I am a firm believer in how material will always present itself for my blog. How can it not?

I go to Twitter to send a link to my blog when I publish. My Twitter feed is a vast wilderness of total chaos, and I am only following 522 people or organizations, "Twitter feeds."

I am @gmrstudios.

I have 177 followers. This is not impressive.

Today, I followed Sara Blevins. I know her name from somewhere.

Here's her tag line. I am very motivated by it.

"Practice being the last to speak."

Sara Blevins

@Sara_Jo_Blevins

I want to put this idea into practice. I think it's vital for "man-splainers" to practice humility and self-control. Assume knowledge. Let people talk, especially people who are women.

So, Twitter informed me I should follow this Sara Blevins, probably because we have 20 followers in common. So I looked at her feed and that line sealed the deal for me to click the follow button.

And then, I found this video.

I was thinking the video would be top ten job skills, specific job skills, like working with data or writing a good email. I wan unprepared for what I found. Along the lines of "Practice being the last to speak," I found ten skills lauded by ten different prestigious and important people.

I was impressed with this list because many of these ideas are on my radar but not all of them.

I learned some new things or gained new emphasis.

Also, I discovered Evan Carmichael and Evan Carmichael.com, which are great resources for more material. For instance, I was just discussing work-life balance with my boss, and Evan's most recent video (today's) is about this subject.

I plan to internalize these values.

I recommend taking some time to watch this video or at the very least to contemplate this video and the skills mentioned therein, which surely you would, Mom, if you were here.

If nothing else, the blog gets me learning things every day, and I find that yo be a valuable commodity.

10 SKILLS That Are HARD to Learn, BUT Will Pay Off FOREVER!
1,927,721 views

Evan Carmichael

Published on Aug 26, 2017

Evan Carmichael.com

1. Speaking up - Warren Buffet
2. Being Honest With Yourself - Mark Cuban
3. Having Confidence - Robin Sharma
4. Listening - Simon Sinek
5. Managing Your Time - Bishop T.D. Jakes
6. Stop Whining - Iyanla Vanzant
7. Staying Present in the Moment - Mel Robbins
8. Being Consistent - Priyanka Chopra
9. Getting Enough Sleep - Arianna Huffington
10. Having Empathy - Meryl Streep




I know, I know. Out of all ten people, of course I chose Priyanka Chopra to be the "cover" photo for this blog post. I get why, and I know how it looks. But I can't help it. I think she is a very amazing human as are all the people shared in this video.

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you, Mom.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 907 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.27 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #904 - Reflections- Bowie - the Time Left

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #904 - Reflections- Bowie - the Time Left

Hi Mom, Not to bring down the party, but I didn't post a blog today. I let the day go by as I reflected and spent a day of doing basically nothing productive.

Okay, not true, I ran some errands, including going to the pet store to buy food for Ellory. I should count that as a productive thing.

But here at home, I am surrounded by things to do and did not muster the wherewithal to do most of them.

I am not depressed. I just needed a day of whatever.

I had several other plans for a post to catch up on this day, and then I spotted this Bowie message on Twitter.

It seemed a good one to share and share with not much else.

The message speaks for itself without me adding to it beyond, as I did, placing it in the context of my day of reflection.

Embedding seems a bit wonky. Oh, no, there it is. Nice.

pic.twitter.com/nwVqtQWcVF

— Bowie Reflections (@Bowiereflection) December 1, 2017

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you, Mom.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 906 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.26 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #903 - Christmas 2017 and Musical Monday

Christmas Eve -2017 - 1712.24

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #903 - Christmas 2017 and Musical Monday

Hi Mom,

Liesel found this amazing Hildegarde von Bingen piece directly below, which led me to accumulate some other pieces plus Grove of Whispers from Warren Ellis yesterday, which led me to a page with a Bandcamp Daily post about Demen (and OH MY IS THAT GREAT).

I am still in low power mode, trying to confine myself to as few words as possible.

Yesterday, Liesel and I spent a magical and quiet day watching movies, eating baked goods, and enjoying candle light and movies. I finally watched Cold Mountain. We also watched an Amazon original - The Lost City of Z.

I considered re-posting any one or all of these past Christmas posts. Yesterday's post on Ellory was a re-post of 2016's Christmas Day post. Below are links to four posts I am rather proud of from 2015 (plus one from 2016), when, just months after your death, Mom, I was really hurting and yet basking in the great love of family. Two years removed from that time (WOW, I have been doing this daily blog for OVER two years), I am in a much better place. I do miss you, Mom, but the hurt is not raw anymore.

I believe in the power of love. There's magic here in my house because of that love and because of this the great web of connection through time, space, spirits, and memory. As Yeats said, "Spiritus mundi."

Bring joy; find joy.

Still, these links speak to my Christmas experiences.

And this music is great.

To all my loved ones near and far, Merry Christmas and a the happiest of holidays.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #170 - Box of comics on Christmas Eve

Friday, December 25, 2015

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #171 - A FAMILY CHRISTMAS 2013


Saturday, December 26, 2015

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #172 - Christmases 2009-2015

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #536 - Tower Christmas at L&N Beard's 2016

And now the great music!











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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 905 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.25 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #902 - And again Ellory Queen

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #902 - And again Ellory Queen

Hi Mom, Just a repost today. Low power mode for the holiday.

Plus, I thought this post was somewhat clever last year.

Originally from Christmas Day 2016 - 

http://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2016/12/hey-mom-talking-to-my-mother-537-new.html

Liesel with Ellory Queen Tower - 1612.24

 Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #537 - New family member: Ellory Queen Tower

Hi Mom, So this happened.

Liesel got a puppy for Christmas.

I wish you here to meet and cuddle with the puppy, Mom. Though you were a cat person most of your life, you appreciated cute. And Ellory is totally cute!

And assorted other posts.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's some of the other names we considered for Ellory:

Pahoehoe (name of a type of lava in Hawaii)
Inky
Eclipse (Clipsey)
Poe
Ayla Ranzz
Black Phyllis
Astrid
Waffle
Zevon
Mushaboom
Xanadu

Some of my other recent posts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 539 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1612.25 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.


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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 904 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.24 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #901 - Ellory Queen arrived - one year ago today

Ellory Queen - adopted December 23, 2016 at nine weeks of age

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #901 - Ellory Queen arrived - one year ago today

Hi Mom,

We adopted Ellory one year ago today.

At first, I was kind of angry about it. But that feeling did not last long.

Ellory won me over.

She has been called a "Daddy's Girl" on more than one occasion.

I wouldn't trade her for anything.

Here's what she looks like (photo directly below) after being chastised for being naughty (escaping under the fence in the back yard).

Ellory after the fence incident 1708.30

1701.02

Ellory and grandpa 1708.25 Havre, MT

1612.26

October 2017

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 903 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.23 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #900 - I Was Low

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #900 - I Was Low

Hi Mom,

I was low.

Now, I am not.

I had wanted to make this post with a photo I have of myself from my K-College days in front of a poster of David Bowie's Low, but I think the photo is back in Michigan on photo paper and that I don't have a digital copy of it. So, maybe some day.

This post and its subject seems appropriate for post #900.

I have undergone a transformation.

I was low. For all its wonder and beauty and excitement, the move out west was a struggle for me, and given that I work at home, I struggled.

But my trip back to Michigan transformed me. Spending time with family and friends lifted my spirits and shed my burdens and anxieties. I came back home to Washington feeling lighter, feeling love, feeling great positivity and optimism. Don't get me wrong. There's love here, too. But I needed to step away from our life here and to get perspective. I also needed more closure for my life in Kalamazoo. I found those things. I could literally feel the heaviness lift off of me about halfway through my stay in Michigan. I felt as if I was uplifted into the air: levitating.

This transformation began here in Portland where Liesel and I attended a lecture on Jungian psychology shortly before I flew back to Michigan. I still need to write a post about that lecture (so stay tuned).

This is my best and brief sharing of my emotional state right now. I am still marveling at it. I am sure it will continue to unravel and reveal new truths as I reflect on it.

In a sense, Mom, this feeling of lightness is what your spirit provides me, though I have an abundant share of it in reality, though I have to think that it's because of you, because of the person I am that owes its greatest allegiance to you and how you helped to shape me.

I am lighter than air, and I am surrounded by love.

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 902 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1712.22 - 10:10

NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.