Halloween Eve....

 

i still need to get the final touches on the decorations. put the candy slide out there. the "door bell". looks like it will be snow free and sort of warm. maybe there will be some trick or treaters. Sunny Boy may go a bit nuts out there.

a little sad today....the old Monday walk has mostly run it's course. the last few years, the coffee part has been much more the thing. thinking i need to expand the invites again. it has altered over the years. the people who come change a bit.  that was part of the reason for the walk.  just needed to remind myself to expand the invites and see if anyone else out there wants to walk. the coffee is good too, just i need some motivation to walk and to socialize. i'm not the best socially so the Monday walks were a good way for me to push myself into the social sphere.  

the reminder was cemented as i was walking up powerline pass. i saw someone behind me that was catching up fast.  much faster walker than i am.  not that this is tough these days.  she caught up with me and the dogs with her were friendly as was she so we chatted. basic stuff...turns out she is a nurse.  works at providence.  doing a fellowship in the picu. lol..small world. i told her i'm alone but this is what we have come to call the Monday walk group.  she was welcome to join. 

it was another beautiful day out there. coldish but not too bad. the ice from last week has melted back a bit. i headed to the ponds but then took side trails. not wanting to go through the ice. then took the dogs up tank to powerline and then down gasline. 2 hours of walking.  felt good. 

toe report....slowly growing in. strange it seems to form a pre-toenail that serves to direct the new nails growth.  i was wondering how that would happen, feared an ingrown nail.  nature has apparently figured that out so i don't think i need to worry much. 

one co-worker found out i had a blog.  she was interested....are you reading? have you figured out how nuts i am in my head.  haha. 

Hamas released another hostage. is that 5? the thing to remember is that Hamas killed Americans and people who were from other parts of the world. they also took Americans hostage.  of the over 200 hostages they supposedly hold, many are from other nations, not Israel. 

i'm still not clear why they would do this brutal attack knowing that Israel would do exactly as it is doing. feels like there are just more parts to all this.  a terrorist attacks, you react.  i can't really blame Israel for that.  they have some brutality in their history with Palestine, so it's a general mess.  it's like, after surviving the Nazi's they are more apt to be proactive in an attack than take a wait and see attitude. not sure what answers there are.  the brutal terrorist attack just would serve to make the Israeli's be even more controlling so i'm not clear what the end game was supposed to be.  now thousands have died in Gaza.  Israel says it's going after hamas leadership, but i'd guess the bulk of anyone in Hamas with any "leadership" was either never there, took off to save themselves or they are hiding in a bunker that would take massive explosives to breach. 

the puppet masters that get everyone else killed are generally tucked away in some bunker while the young are sent off to kill and be killed. they are probably off in some safe place, drinking and partying. 

i've long thought one reason they want to outlaw abortion is they need cannon fodder.  how dare women choose to not give them young people to send off to war. does anyone believe the people in those bunkers, who direct the wars, give a crap about those who fight the wars for them?  

Israel says all the deaths in Gaza are the fault of Hamas.  that may be true, ultimately for their brutal role in starting all of this, however, Israel doesn't control the narrative in Gaza and most of those who will watch their loved ones die, will not see it that way.  it's a never ending cycle, you kill, you risk creating more terrorists that will come back after you another day. no matter what Israel says about the bombings, they will be held to account in their own way. also who believes they would just go peacefully into the night if Hamas released all the hostages tomorrow. after the Olympic killings, Israel systematically went after each killer. 

Hamas was informed that their way out was to release the hostages.  talk of a cease fire but what will that do? allow Hamas to steal supplies, make new plans. there does seem risk in that. Israel rejects that outright though.  US is supporting Israel.  the people in Gaza...they seem to just be cannon fodder themselves...to everyone.  at least that is how i see it. i don't see anyone coming to their rescue.  the population is young, children have been killed. Israel using bombs, Hamas burning babies in cribs, cutting off heads...that feels way more brutal.  how does such hate exist....? 

religion mostly.  

who has the better god, who does god think got the fairy tale correct. i have to figure that just because a place is predominantly this religion or that religion doesn't necessarily mean that all of the people are just as into the dominant religion as they may appear. i suspect at this point to other nations we appear to be a nation of crazy evangelical christians, when truthfully a higher percentage of our population doesn't attend any church on a regular basis. 

we all get put in the same category and then you have "leadership" that puts on this show of being so religious.  look at our idiot trump.  he has all those evangelicals believing he is as gaga for God as they are...when in reality the only god he believes in is the one he sees in the mirror. 

i just don't see the appeal of him.  he's a freak really. orange, hairspray, rude, crude, misogynistic...i have trouble finding any redeeming qualities, even more trouble finding any of the messages that i read about in the New Testament....and yet, here we are, he's treated better than Jesus would be treated if they shared the same stage. 

i can totally see him tweeting about Jesus. picking on him to try to raise himself up in the polls. saying all his usual tropes. 

i've no doubt, if Jesus did come down here, he would be rejected outright by these evangelicals and they would nail him to the cross all over and continue their trump worship. 

jesus is too woke for the likes of the evangelical crowd. 

in other news, Matthew Perry has passed.  i've always enjoyed the Friends sitcom.  easy, funny.  he's the first to pass. i really had no idea how bad his drug/alcohol issues were. hadn't heard of him getting septic it sounds like, super sick. so i guess, in that way, it's not as much of a shock. still a very sad loss. they all are when people lose years to drugs and alcohol. sad that he starred on a show called friends, and yet he passed alone. his dog will be adopted by one of his co-workers, at least that is what i read. 

was just reading about Paradise, Ca. we were talking about Lahaina and how devastating the loss there is. made us wonder what has happened in Paradise. over 18,000 structures lost there is now a bit of a building boom. 1400 homes have been rebuilt or are in the process i guess. less than half of the old population remain.  many still living in trailers on land they owned...with some push to build or get off land. many are still waiting for payouts from PG&E. there is no new way out of the community and sounds like a much smaller tax base with the loss of population.  it's struggling for sure. the mayor talks cheerily of all the progress, but it's not an easy recovery still, 5 years out. Lahaina is just getting started.  

there is added stress in Lahaina,  of the area being ripe for tourism and large corporations wanting to swoop in and snag land that has been in families for generations no doubt.  many who could never afford the costs to buy in that area now. 

the hospital in Paradise got $100 million between insurance and PG&E but the article said it isn't reopening. private roads were damaged in the clean up, federal dollars will only repair public roads. there is no sewer system at this point. one resident that stayed, rebuilt, wishes she'd just left. her advice to Lahaina "don't be scared to get out, and start a new life someplace where the next decade won't be about sifting through the physical and psychic ashes. even if you get back in your home, your life is forever changed". 

not sure how easy that will be in Lahaina.  fire is horrible. the loss seems like it goes on for years. i recall a co-worker years ago speaking of her losses. said she still thinks of things and quickly remembers the items were lost in the fire. 

then, you look at the hell in Israel/Gaza and in Ukraine and i guess it just puts things back in perspective for a moment. 

things can always be worse. these faces just make me smile.  

a walk to Grenwich, a walk on the spit and a float down the river.

cool boat at the place we stayed in Bishops Beach.

a late night sunset.

a climb in Whittier with a grand view.

paddling...fun to get back on the water this summer again.  miss our camping crew.  we had a great group and some amazing paddle treks to some beautiful places. so great to be able to share just a bit with my sweet family. 

another shooting in Maine. of course, assault rifle, lax gun laws. guy was trained sniper.  eventually killed himself after killing at two locations. 

a landlord took to stabbing his tenants multiple times because they were Muslim, this was right after the terrorist attack in Israel. the boy was 6 and was Palestinian/American. the mother was also stabbed several times but survived.  when confronted she asked them to pray for peace...then he stabbed her son many times and her as well. a few weeks before the landlord had attended the boys Birthday and brought him gifts. 

russian military killed an entire family in cold blood because they wanted their house. the hell continues across the globe. it always has and always will.  all you can really do is live the best life you can in the peace you are gifted with. you just never know when that peace will be shattered. more often than not it won't be so there is that.  i try to remember that despite what the news bombards us with, most people across the globe live their lives, simple and in a semblance of peace. 

it's easy to get sucked into the worst of what is happening out there. you can fight for better, hope for better for others but much of it logistically is not in our control. we are all just the rats in the rat race, surviving and some times thriving. 

"everything will be alright in the end and if it's not alright, it's not yet the end", from that movie set in India. best Marigold Hotel....always love that line. another line i have always liked was about perspective in a movie called, "Leaving Normal". two women end up in Alaska after a road trip.  the one is happy the other is not.  the one is asked, "why are you happy?". she says, "i guess i didn't know what to expect" then she's asked why the other one isn't happy, "she expected something different". reminds me that we shouldn't hold too tight to expectations.  life is going to take us where it needs to take us.  all you can do is learn to adapt to the changes that will confront you. 

eventually, it will be the end for each of us. in 100 years-maybe more for some, most of us will be completely forgotten.  perhaps a blip in a family history, but even that won't bring to life who you were, what you did and didn't do. all those things that we bother over each and every day, items we find precious are only for us, in 100 years...none of it will exist.  

had a bit of anxiety off and on through the day.  i worked through it.  we are all working through some stuff, that is the thing with life.  we all have crap. nobody escapes it. 

overall a great day.  

better dig out a few more spiders for the candy slide.  it will rise again...the kids enjoy getting their candy that way. one good thing that came of Covid, haha. 

there was some super tall lupine out there this summer. the fireweed wasn't as dramatic as some years.  this place is dramatic and unpredictable. 

many out skating this week.  i do love how Alaskans just adapt their outdoor activities to what the current conditions are without bitching about those current conditions.  they take their kids out there with them  makes me so happy for those kids and families. what a great gift to grow up here.  so many outdoor opportunities. 

Ivy loves linen change days.  she is so dang sweet. 

we did lose one tennis ball out there.  we have many replacements...it's all about tennis ball karma.  give to other dogs and sometimes balls come back to us.  

they really got pretty lucky weather wise, considering how much rain we got this year. 

well, it's time to stop rambling and hunt for spiders!  i do have one more pumpkin to carve.  one is melted beyond recognition.  

grateful for A. friends, new and hate to say old....lol, new and reliable/tested/consistent/cherished....hmm B. sunny days and lovely strolls C. peace, love, acceptance