A Sense of Doubt blog post #3952 - SNOW and PHOTOS - SoD Reprint of #520

Christmas tree cutting - 1997

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3952 - SNOW and PHOTOS - SoD Reprint of #520

Tomorrow I am hoping to post a revision of the "annual Christmas tree slaughter" with the photo above and m any more not included in the original, but it's probably not going up until Monday due to homework and this big pre-practicum intensive that I am doing.

Thanks for tuning in.




LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.



The link to the original post I am reprinting below:

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #520 - SNOW STORM & the collected photo series one thus far

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #520 - SNOW STORM & the collected photo series one thus far

Hi Mom,

So this is happening. Big snow storm. We could have up to a foot of snow by tomorrow, and I have to go out to a study session and then on to class.

We're getting a lot of snow today and tomorrow.

As ee cummings wrote in a poem I read to my students on Monday ("Somewhere I have Never Traveled"): "the snow, carefully, everywhere, descending."

But I am warm, and I am studying, and I am working, and I have Christmas cookies, and I am writing run ons, and I am sad for a friend, and I kiss my puppy, and life goes on.

I thought that this might be a good time -- for "Throwback Thursday" -- to collect in one place all the recent photos in photo series one with links to the original posts. These are not in the order in which I published them. I believe that they are in alphabetical order by the file names.

I wish you were here for hugs, Mom.

We all need our daily hug requirements to be met.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #507 - Lori with Santa 1974

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #512 - Christmas with Cousins 1984

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #504 - Me and Lori Jan-Feb 1972

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #501- January 29, 1962

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #502 - The Tower Family - October 1962

Monday, November 28, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #510 - First Birthday, January 19, 1963

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #508 - Tower Family 1966

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #509 - Cubs Trip March 11, 1972

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #513 - East Tawas Point 8-11-1963

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #511 - Boating 1966

Monday, November 21, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother ##503 - Mom and me 3yrs 4months-May 1965

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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.
- Days ago = 522 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1612.08 - 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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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2512.13 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3816 days ago & DAD = 471 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. 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 Mom's death, 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 her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3864 - Talking Conversations - Reprint of Hey Mom #380 from 2016

Mom and Dad - 39th wedding anniversary - 1997

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3864 - Talking Conversations - Reprint of Hey Mom #380 from 2016

One thing that I don't actually do when I reprint is check to make sure I have not reprinted the post before.

It would have helped if I had marked in the original when I reprint the post, so when I go to reprint it again, I see that note.

But I can check my category. And this time, I will.

Okay, as best as I can determine, I have NOT reprinted this one.

I think it's a good one.

It's still true.

FUN FACT: This original HEY MOM post was published 382 days after Mom died. Today marks 383 days since Dad died. Pretty much the same. Had yesterday not been Music Monday, I would have published on Day #382 since Dad's death.

These synchronicities are meaningful to me, and I pay attention to them.

Thanks for tuning in.


The link to the original post that I am reprinting below:

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #380 - Talking conversations - Throwback Thursday

Mom and Dad - 39th wedding anniversary - 1997

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #380 - Talking conversations - Throwback Thursday

Hi Mom,

I have missed our conversations in the last 382 days (and a few more since you were not so conversant near the end), and I have gotten away from the purpose for this blog, which is continuing those conversations.

So, today, on the Throwback Thursday, here's the news that is news. Here's what's going on and coming up.

The photo above will be 20 years old next year; next month, you would have celebrated your 58th wedding anniversary (August 16th), which is the same day as I acknowledge my cancer surgery.

So these assorted things that are happening are in no apparent order, much like our conversations.

Liesel and I went out to dinner last night and after trying to get in two different places we ended up at the Texas Corners Brewing Company and had a terrible meal, which is a shame because last summer it was one of our new favorite restaurants.

Liesel took a lamp to work for her desk, and I have to bring her a new bulb this morning.

It may be interesting to note that there are things I would share with you on the phone that I will not put in writing and publish to my blog. But I still tell you those things in my head, through my spirit.

The chickens need a new ramp for their coop, so we're getting one made. Paul Abueva should be over some time soon to measure. We're still waiting on our new awning, which I was hoping would get installed this week. The gas line for the new grill gets put in next Thursday.

I checked out two books on grief from the library last year around this time. I have to take them back today as they are due and I cannot renew them. I have never read them, but they look good. I skimmed the tables of contents. Maybe when I return them, I will check out new ones. There are other books on grief.

For record keeping or in case I want to go back and get them again, they are as follows

Grief and its Challenges by Neil Thompson. 2012 - BF 575 .G7 T49

The Truth About Grief - The Myth of Its Five Stages and the New Science of Loss
by Ruth Davis Konigsberg - 2011 - BF 575 .G7 K638

The second book seems interesting as it argues against the five stages of grief. I like the term "disbelief" better than "denial" because it's not like I denied that you are dead, Mom, but it's more like I struggled to believe it, and I did not want it to be true. Likewise, bargaining was more like negotiating, which I see as somewhat different but those words are probably close enough. And I think "acceptance" as magical goal is over-rated. I still have not "accepted" it. I still don't want it to be true, your death, you gone. But I know it is true, and I go on. Maybe one of the stages should be functioning, going on, survival. something like that.

On to other subjects.

After weeks of putting off a Meijer trip, one is imminent. Possibly tomorrow. The list is quite huge. I am not sure I can afford it all. I may suggest to Liesel that we go to the night market tonight. It's a Farmer's Market event!

I just noticed that my phone's ringer has been off since Tuesday night when I silenced it for the musical I was reviewing.

I am reading "Normal" by Warren Ellis. He's serializing this novella in weekly e-book installments for four weeks. It's about an asylum for burnt-out futurists. I also started The Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving. And there's the usual comic books. I was reading off my Kindle for a while but I tired of that. I much prefer actual paper bound books, so the Irving is a hard cover.

I have been working. I am a bit behind on the Whirlpool job, but I have been catching up on grading. I have more to do today and tomorrow, but I am in good shape to take a 20-mile morning ride tomorrow, which I have decided is a weekly thing.

A thunderstorm just passed through. I think the serious part is over. More rain, which means no watering the garden!

I want an ice cream cone. I bought a package of drumsticks with nuts.

I am cooking a pork loin in the crock pot and have to do the dishes, which I will do as I listen to more of The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross, which is my current audio book.

I need to do laundry.

Liesel needed light bulbs and her phone charger brought to her at work.

I know, exciting stuff, right? But such were our conversations. This is a pretty good facsimile minus some of the more personal stuff.

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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.

- Days ago = 382 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1607.21 - 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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my best friend Tom circa 1990?

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2509.16 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3729 days ago & DAD = 383 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. 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 Mom's death, 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 her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3861 - Taking a Break - SoD Reprint of #2025 - Hey Mom #1211

Me with Globe - 1968 - 6.25 years old

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3861 - Taking a Break - SoD Reprint of #2025 - Hey Mom #1211

Back in 2020, I made this post that I am reprinting here because as I explain below in the original post, I needed to take a break. The pandemic had been going for months, the George Floyd murder had also taken place months before, the election was ramping up and about two months away, and I needed a break. And so this post.

I need a break again, especially after the killing of Charlie Kirk that is casting fear for many of us for the consequences of free speech. As I wrote yesterday, I don't want to risk any repercussions for my speech, even though my blog is hardly well-trafficked.

So, a break.

Though this time it's not a full on break. I have new dedication to original posts on Wednesdays (about writing) and Thursdays (letter to Dad) along with Music Monday and Comic Book Sunday (these last two can be reprints), and so I am going into a kind of low-power mode for a couple of weeks with more reprints, simple shares, and simple posts, though the original posts I mentioned will continue on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I need to catch my breath. So I have postponed longer posts, especially those with political content, and I am taking some time to think, reflect, and watch the government and what actions it takes against its citizens in retribution for rhetoric it perceives as counter to its ideological agenda.

And, so, this reprint.

Also, it's neat to just look at these older posts even if I do not reprint them. For instance, here I ordered the book An Unkindness of Magicians to read to feed my fantasy writing because the VE Schwab book I was going to listen to on audio is not yet available. I had forgotten all about An Unkindness of Magicians, so that alone makes reprinting this post worthwhile.

Also, notice the cosplay cool cat whose picture I took waiting in line for Rose City Comic con in 2018, two years before the pandemic, holding a mask to his face.

Prophetic?

Thanks for tuning in.


PHOTO CAPTION ERROR
There was an error with the photo caption so that it read 1966 - 6.25 years old. In 1966, I was four years old. I was six in 1968. I think the year is supposed to read 1968 as another link below where the photo originally appeared indicates.

The background is definitely Traverse City, and we did move to Schoolcraft in 1968 but probably some time in the summer. If I am really 6.25 years old in the picture, that's April, and we had not moved yet.


Link to the original post that I am reprinting below:

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1211 (SoD #2025) - I Need to Take a Break

Me with Globe - 1968 - 6.25 years old

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1114 - Throwback Thursday on Friday 1809.14 - Me and the Earth 1968

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1211 (SoD #2025) - I Need to Take a Break

Hi Mom,

How are you?

You speak with heavenly beauty to me from the beyond. I hear you. Thank for staying by my side and yet not, and yet everywhere, and yet nowhere. It's as an aspect of Quantum Reality.

Was that too corny? Oh well. I don't care.



So, here's the thing.

I need to take a break.

I have been working a lot. I have been running hard. I have been making complicated and very time intensive posts with a lot of original writing, and I have been running this hard since the start of the pandemic quarantine.

And now it's time for a break, a little vacation.

I cannot really take a vacation during the pandemic. I can't really go anywhere safely, and even if I could, what about my dogs? I either take them with me, or I cannot go because I do not trust any place to properly and safely house them.

And doesn't Europe have a travel ban against people from the United States because our pandemic is so out of control?

I need some time off. I need to dial back the crazy train. I need a breather.



In my employment world, one of the two schools for which I work -- Lower Columbia College -- is on a break between quarters as we just finished summer quarter, and even though I had just one class, I put a lot of time into it. My other school is currently running, and I have two classes with it, so that's an issue. But my work load has dropped.

Further freeing occurred when the workshop I am taking ended Tuesday night, and we are about to start the Labor Day weekend, which prompted me to give all my current students extensions.

And so, I have more time free, and I would like to channel it elsewhere for a while.

Now what happens when a daily blogger takes a break?

After all, I could just stop posting for a while. No one is paying me, no one is holding a gun to my head, and unless you leave comments to disabuse me of this belief, I do not have that many avid and daily readers.

But, as I have always claimed, this blog is for me more than anything else. Sure, I think about audience a lot. I am often trying to reach my students. At other times, I have a broader view and hope by pushing the blog out there via social media with has tags that I will get more readers, at least for certain posts.

My numbers often support this "marketing."




A quick glance at my numbers shows that I reached a monthly high of 412 posts back on August 11th.  I am not sure if this is related to the posts on or around that day because they do not have numbers of views that would total 412.

I tend to hover in the 40-50 page views a day on average with spikes of 126 (8/18) and 116 (8/31). My WEEKLY HODGE PODGE posts seem to be the most popular event of my week, always accumulating 30+ views with some topping out higher, such as #1978 currently at 110 views and #1963 at 83 (links below).


A Sense of Doubt blog post #1978 - "You Don't Vote For Kings!" - Weekly Hodge Podge 2007.18


A Sense of Doubt blog post #1963 - A symbol of hate? Weekly Hodge Podge for July Third





Therefore, it makes sense that even in my time off, taking a break, vacation, I should continue to produce the WEEKLY HODGE PODGE, which I had considered also taking a break from. But the HODGE PODGE does not cost me a ton of time as I read and accumulate material every morning. Plus this week's is dedicated to one of Obama's best speeches ever: A MORE PERFECT UNION.

So, to go back to the question of how a daily blogger takes a break?

EASY POSTS.

For instance, I have features called LOW POWER MODE, One Photo, and THAT ONE THING that allow me to keep my blog simple and easy to produce on a daily basis, which was the original concept for my T-shirts blog. I can even produce these easy posts in advance.

LOTS OF SHARING. I share anyway, but I can feature posts that just share other content with very little commentary from me; after all, I have 584 draft posts currently saved in my account, subtracting 95 for the weekly comic lists I accumulate and probably will never share, that leaves approximately 490-some posts that are half-finished, many of which already contain copies of material I want to share.

RESIST THE URGE OF COMPLICATIONS. I have tendency to overdo, over-commit, over-write. If I can KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID, then I can survive my time off, which I am thinking may need to last about two weeks with a return to the NEW NORMAL about September 17th.

ALSO, in the "time off," I will still be writing. I have longer blog posts that I want to devote time to finishing, and I am working on fiction in a much more dedicated way and other work stuff: two presentations to prep, classes to prep, job search, outdoor fun as summer wanes, new writer's groups.

So, that's that.

Thanks for reading.

Here we go into the sort of time off, sort of vacation, sort of low power mode.




DREAMS

ARG!!!!!!!! Trump was in my dream and so was Rebecca Watson.

Trump was my college professor. After he said something offensive in the class room when I had tuned him out and could not answer his question about house electrical amperage accurately. I said "fuck this" and prepared to leave the room and drop the class.

There was a break, and I encountered Trump in the hallway. I thought to myself that I should kiss his ass and curry his favor rather than dropping the class. I could probably get an A if I just stroked his ego constantly. I apologized for my out burst and begged his forgiveness. He appreciated my candor and HUGGED ME... yuk!

Later, I encountered Rebecca Watson (often blogged about, like HERE SoD#1880), and  I was going to recommend a tacos place (in Portland?) and there was a lot of stress because I had to pick the place with the most amazing tacos AND a place where one could actually have the tacos in the pandemic (outdoor dining). Could I pick such a place?

Clearly, these dreams, especially TRUMP HUGGING ME (GAG) IS PROOF THAT I need a break.

rose city comic con 2018

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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 soon, Mom.

- Days ago = 1889 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2009.03 - 10:10
NEW (written 1708.27 and 1907.04) 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. Dropped "Talk to you tomorrow, Mom" in the sign off on 1907.04. Should have done it sooner as this feature is no longer daily.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2509.13 - 10:19

- Days ago: MOM = 3726 days ago & DAD = 380 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. 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 Mom's death, 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 her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3816 - SoD Reprint of #1095 from 2018 - Throwback, Photos, PENULTIMATE HEY MOM #1095

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3816 - SoD Reprint of #1095 from 2018 - Throwback, Photos, PENULTIMATE HEY MOM #1095

So, another reprint, and then another Sunday, but two school posts in between. On Saturday, a post for Ryne Sandberg who died Monday.

I am at low power but not officially low power mode.

Writing a 47-page research project quite shell-shocked me. Long day on Sunday to finish it. Of course, it didn't need to be 47 pages. It didn't even need to 17 pages. But I learned a lot writing it and feel it's a very in-depth investigation of what I was asked to write, which was analyzing four events from my life from a developmental science perspective. All of that effort, especially Friday-Sunday, left me spent, and I have not done a whole lot on Monday or Tuesday of this week. So, easy posts were a good choice. Plus, I posted five blog posts yesterday to social media, even though I had two of them published already.

This reprint is the PENULTIMATE daily HEY MOM post, meaning that #1096 was the last consecutive daily HEY MOM, which I ended after three years of consecutive posting.

I wrote about some of these things here:

Friday, July 4, 2025

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1251 (SoD #3790) - Ten Years Ago Today: Marjorie Tower - 1936-2015

and

Monday, July 7, 2025

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3793 - Ten Years of Sense of Doubt (and Hey Mom) - The Theme Song

I am rather proud of my blog, and especially of the three years of consecutive HEY MOM posts. Doing that, really helped me find a way for my life to contain the grief of losing my Mom. I continue that work now following the death of Dad, coming up on one year ago.

One thing I do that helps is the daily count of days since my parents died.

Mom's count is up to 3681 days as of today, though that counts the day of her death and today's date as well as I explain above in post #3793.

However, Dad's count -- #335 -- is marching toward that one year mark. I realized when I looked at the number today one of the ways I cope with that count. When the count was low, I could assure myself that it just happened, he just died, not that long ago. As the count grows, and soon it will reach 365, I understand that I do the count, I watch the count, to come to accept the reality of this loss. In a sense the loss both grows with that number and lessens. It grows in the sense of how long I am living without Mom or Dad (or both), and it lessens the intense pain of the experience as the farther I get from it, the more accepting I am of it.

Also, as I watch the months progress, a part of me is comforted by how "it is not August yet." I literally say that to myself. Even today, just two days from August, I can still say it. I will say it tomorrow. And then it will be August, and that's the month in which Dad died. And then the new thing will be not yet in the August 20s. Still weeks away. And then, it will be August 28th, the day itself. And that might be a difficult day.

Anyway, thanks for tuning in.

On to today's cool reprint.

BTW, the photo (above and below) was taken through a window that looked into a pool at some hotel. My Dad was not under water with a water-proof camera.


The original link to the post I am reprinting below:

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1095 - Throwback Thursday for 1807.05

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1095 - Throwback Thursday for 1807.05

Hi Mom,

Tomorrow will be the last of the daily transmissions of Hey Mom. I am continuing Hey Mom as a feature but mostly just twice a week unless special occasions or inspirations necessitate more.

But today, somewhat chatty. And then a reprint with a lot of Mom photos.

As I shared yesterday, I feel closest to you in nature, Mom, mainly because I feel close to the spiritual there. The nature here in our new home is even more deeply spiritual and older than that of Michigan, though this is surely just a feeling that's not based in accuracy. Mountains inspire thoughts of the age of the earth and our brief time here as humans compared to the overall length of the planet's history thus far.

So, Liesel and I took two hikes lately: Sunday down in the Tillamook State Forest along the Wilson River Trail, with the dogs, which is a bit challenging, and then yesterday, Wednesday, July 4th, around Coldwater Lake at the base of Mt. St. Helens, without the dogs. I would have liked to be on the hike at the time of your death, but we couldn't even make it there by the equivalent time in this time zone, (10:10 a.m.) let alone being on the trail at 7:10 a.m. We're not morning exercise people.

But one good thing is that we're jazzed to take more hikes. Maybe as soon as this weekend. We also want to go Kayaking.

In other news, the Tigers lost both of their games to the Cubs in Wrigley, and apparently back east, near our old home, it's really hot. People were suffering from heat exhaustion. I could have elected to stay home yesterday to watch the game, but I didn't want to be home on the anniversary of your death, Mom. I want to be out living life, being active, having fun. It's what you want for me. I feel it.

In other other news, things are progressing slowly. I did not make as much progress with job search or coding while on breaks from Park and CTU as I would have liked. But I am undaunted. I will keep at it.

Just basically daily chores take a lot of time -- errands, kitchen clean up, watering the lawn and plants, dog care (walks), trash, laundry, and really, I need to find time to do some more cleaning rather than just spot cleaning; I pick up clumps of dog hair when I see them.

I also wanted to assemble my bike -- front tire was removed in the move -- and take it for a spin.

Beyond that, there's not much to report. I am reading as much as I can and have time for. Comic books are a solace. I am reading Nick Harkaway's Gnomon in the traditional way, and I am almost done with Stephen King's latest -- The Outsider -- as my audio book.

Also, I am trying to sit outside for one-three hours a day when the sun is high in the sky and my back porch is actually shady. Today I plan to do some coding while sitting out there.

I have been trying to get more work done during the week, so I have less to do on the weekend. I don't like putting in major hours on the weekend, especially Sunday.

I took off Wednesday from work completely, 100%. I did not check my classes and did zero work. This kind of break rarely happens.

I am not sure what I am going to write tomorrow for the last daily, consecutive Hey Mom post. But I do know that I will be back next week to continue our conversation, Mom, and with some new photos (back to series one).

Did I mention that I am going back to Michigan in August? I am. More on that later. I need to start creating my schedule.

So for now, a reprint of one of my better photo galleries. Lots of variety here.

From -

http://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2017/01/hey-mom-talking-to-my-mother-544-2016.html

Mom looking all Jackie K in convertible

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #544 - 2016, the blog that was, Mom Photos, the other years in pictures - clearing out my folder

Hi Mom,

It's 2017, which marks the start of a second year with out you.

I am clearing out my folder and in a mode of pictures only.

Here's a celebration to you, including pictures of many of your things still in place at the condo you shared with Dad: your cooks books and your cat picture wall.

I love you.

Mom and Dad 39th Wedding Anniversary

MOM and Dad - APX Christmas Formal 5612.14

MOM and Dad - APX Christmas Formal 5712.14

Mom and Dad Cub's Fish Roast 1998

Mom and Delbridge family 11-10-1991

Mom and Grandpa Delbridge 5-23-1998

Mom and us with friends in Wales June 1986

Mom at Turkeyville 2011

Mom Birthday 1998

Mom birthday 1999

Mom birthday dinner Claras BC 10-96

Mom coming down aisle to marry Dad 1958

Mom Lori and Dad 10-9-98-RBT pinned Lori Oshtemo Rotary

Mom Merle Norman Ad-08-1994

Mom metrbt-1997-zoo

Mom stuff 1610.21 taken

Mom stuff 1610.21 taken

Mom stuff 1610.21 taken

Mom stuff 1610.21 taken

Mom with Delbridge Family - June 1986 Lois Graduation Party

Mom's Cat Wall

Mom's Cat Wall

Mom's Cat Wall

Mom's Favorite Mustard

Mom's shirt in my closet

MOM-cbt birthday 2007 001

MOM-in the convertible

Mom-Rykses-Oct-Nov-98

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day 2010

Brick in Memorial Garden at
Richland Presbyterian Church taken 1610.21 w-dad

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- Days ago = 546 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1701.01 - 10:10
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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.
- Days ago = 1097 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1807.05 - 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.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2507.30 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3681 days ago & DAD = 335 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. 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 Mom's death, 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 her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.