Yearly Archives: 2023

Dogs, Family, Feelings, Fourth Phase, Friends, Health, Shadow Mountain, Weather +Climate

Ruth comes home

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Winter and the Wolf Moon

Tuesday gratefuls: Memories with Tom and the dogs. 8 years ago. 12 degrees. Dusting of Snow. Rabbit tracks on the driveway. Kep in the Snow. Ruth came home. 15 years of Solstice entries. (lost 3 years somehow) Lodgepoles with Hoarfrost. Aspen Branches coated, too. Fog. Kristen Gonzalez. My PCP. That Kringle. Eggs. Apples. Peanut butter. Yogurt. Blueberries. Blackberries. Raspberries. Sourdough bread. Ramen. Mother Earth’s bounty. Made into us, to me. Oatmeal.

Sparks of Joy and Awe: Ruth at home

 

Got a call about 4:30 pm yesterday. Jen. Ruthie’s coming home. We had a family therapy session (on Zoom) that went well. Half an hour later they called. I said I couldn’t go get her. I have work tomorrow. They insisted. Also, I wanted to invite you to dinner some night. Would you like to come? Yes. Of course.

We’ll see how things go. Part of the logic in sending her home was the chaotic nature of the Cedar Springs Hospital unit she was on. Back to a calmer, more stable environment. Made me wonder though about the therapeutic nature of such a place. Though. Ruth says she got what she needed. And more. May it be so.

She will go back to school starting tomorrow. Holiday break is over and she’ll start her second semester as a junior at Northfield High. A Denver STEM school. Unlike her she failed two classes last semester. One in which a teacher refused to let her make up work in the weeks after Jon’s death and during her hospitalization. Jerk. Another in which she didn’t turn in assignments. Doesn’t seem right to me.

She and Gabe both had a very tough fall semester. Jon’s death. The transition to living full time at one parent’s place. Ruthie’s own struggles with mental health before she left for Cedar Springs. Yet another example of the Cartesian split. If the body is sick, say Ruth had had cancer, the school would have accommodated her. But when the mind is sick, what do we do?

 

The Hoarfrost on the Lodgepoles make them look like sage elders, gray bearded and wise. Ephemera. It will not survive the warming Sun. The Aspen Branches look arthritic, curled up and accented by the Rime. I can see the dawn Light striking a few Trees. Gray white branches, red Lodgepole Bark, and the glow of the Sun. A beautiful moment on Shadow Mountain.

 

Kep. The fourteen inches of Snow has created trouble for him. He goes out, often breaking trail the whole time because he can not see where he’s been. His back legs tire out. So he sits. When he’s not exhausted, he finds his way back. Not sure  how, but he does.

Exhaustion makes him frustrated and he sits, then strikes off in a new direction. Maybe toward the house. Maybe away from it.

Yesterday I had to go out and attempt to lead him back. I say attempt because he’s an Akita. And has chosen those moments to become very stubborn. Glad I had those forty years in Minnesota. The cold was not an issue. It took a while but between spurts with a leash on. He pulled it off. Then my hand on his collar. He found the house and walked along it to the back door. His back legs quivered when he got inside.

He did recover quickly however. I may have to put him on a lead when I let him out. I don’t want to because he loves the Snow and wandering around in it. Still…

 

 

Asia, Family, Feelings, Fourth Phase, Friends, Hermitage, Holidays, Korea, Mathematics

Connected

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Winter and the Wolf Moon

Monday gratefuls: A day into the New Year. Talking to Ruth. Who comes home Friday. Bit of Snow. So far. Limits, differentiation, integration. Functions. Two youtube calculus lessons. Back to Korean. Another thousand word plus day. Content rich Ancientrails archives. Annual physical tomorrow. Flagged off Robin until April. Prepping the house for interior painting. Car insurance. Bill for my PET scan. The Ancient Brothers. Mark’s interview. Mary’s introduction to me of the god Toshigamisama, a Shinto deity. the God of the New Year-he brings good luck.

Sparks of Joy and Awe: Toshigamisama, may he bring you good luck

 

Talked to Ruth last night. Said Happy New Year. Asked her if she had gotten what she needed at Cedar Springs. More than what I needed. I’m coming home Friday. That was big news. Maybe a week earlier than anticipated. I plan to take the two of them for regular Saturday morning breakfasts every two weeks. Hope we can get back to some of the normal things like the Planetarium in Boulder. The Zoo. Science Museum. Might start taking Ruth to Dazzle Jazz. Gabe to the Rockies.

Gabe texted me with the rules to a card game called tycoon. All the rules. It was a long text. He wants to teach it to me when he comes up next. I look forward to it. As I wrote before, my relationship with both Gabe and Ruth has deepened since Jon’s death. Grateful for that. Feels like it will continue.

As we discussed on the Ancient Brothers Sunday morning, relationships are a key to good health. Especially in old age. Zoom has opened more venues for retaining friendships. As somebody said, I think Paul, 2D is great. Though 3d is better. When possible.

With my buddy Alan set to move to downtown Denver I told him how important our breakfasts were to me. Why’s everybody so worried about our moving to Denver? We go down the hill four times a week. This just reverses the trip. We might have to meet in Morrison, but we’ll make it work. glad for that.

 

I did restart my Duolingo Korean lessons. I was rusty, but also pleased with what I had retained. The trick with both Korean and calculus is to work at it daily.

I started a youtube series on calculus. Gonna hunt around for a bit to find the best series for me. I felt a little used (recently) portion of my intellect wake up. That strictly logical part. It was fun to try to figure out how the first derivative might work before the lecturer explained it. I wasn’t right but the muscle used in thinking it through? Oh, yeah. I remember that.

Languages. Mathematics. Music. Not my strong suits. Ever. Means I can stretch myself, torque the mental engine into the red zone. Like visiting a foreign country. Seeing how different disciplines solve problems. How working in them helps me see the world from a different perspective. Very much looking forward to the journey in both instances.

And, when I take that trip to Korea late this year, I’ll have some ability to read signs and menus. Speak. Or, at least understand some.

Maybe calculate the area under the flight path? I’m kidding on that one.

Till tomorrow.