Tuesday, February 07, 2023

Up top is an image of my favorite extinct volcano, Broken Top, its profile dramatized in early morning’s complex winter.

A couple of biggies occurring this week. Tonight, I’ll enjoy popcorn while watching Biden’s State of the Union Address. This year’s will be overseen by Harris and McCarthy instead of Harris and Pelosi. McCarthy might try to take some pages from Pelosi’s book to appear tough and unhappy about whatever Biden says. But Pelosi is a standalone; nobody better or more fully expresses disdain, from her bold and lackluster handclapping to her speech-ripping.

Next Sunday, it’s the Superbowl, with Eagles vs. Chiefs. I hail from Kansas city and a Chief’s fan. Hopefully, our incredible Quarterback’s ankle will have healed to handle whatever’s required. So, I understand Superbowl ads cost about $7M for 30 seconds worth of time. To me, those ads mostly represent money wasted.

And next week is Valentine’s Day. I understand that already it’s nearly impossible to get dinner reservations in our little city. I also understand that tourism is down this year. No one could prove that by me, for traffic is heavy and housing is scarce, and expensive. Everywhere is new construction, and most shocking, for the first time clusters of apartment buildings are going up, tall, invasive, and ugly.

A little farm not far from my place has been mowed and cleared for new housing. I didn’t get around to photographing the farm and its wonderful classic barn before everything disappeared.

As usual, I digress.

Dear Friends: Tomorrow, it’s back to work. I’ve enjoyed this little string of days off. Diana

Monday, February 06, 2023

I wrote recently about having not spotted a Robin this season. The birds winter in my area, almost invisibly, and I miss seeing them. Yesterday, a fat Robin perched on my watering troughs. That active bird suggested spring will arrive soon.

So, too, now’s the time to address spring cleaning.

I’m a “putter-offer” who typically prefers to wait and “do it” later.” Finally, yesterday, I tackled with surprising gusto several long-standing “waits.” It astonishes that most chores, once addressed, are easier than anticipated. What’s best is that completing each gives the incredible high of having “done it!”

All my chores involved cleaning. I handled a moldy refrigerator, a neglected chicken enclosure, and my gosh-awful cluttered garage. Accomplishing eased my mind, so that today on awakening, there wasn’t a “to-do” list running in my head and making me feel guilty. Now more free, I will tackle waiting chores that aren’t on a hot list.

I believe that working outside the home drives productivity inside the home. Being home day after day makes it easy to postpone chores that begin as routine, but neglected over time, evolve into demanding monsters. Now with an outside job and tending to organize better, I’ll more readily dispatch the homework.

Dear Friends: There’s a saying that a busy person gets more done, and the busier the more. Diana

Sunday, February 05, 2023

Today starts my three days off from work. I like short working hours and having daylight to feed critters appropriately and shop if needed. I’ve been focused on learning my working routines and haven’t planned to use this time off. So, I’ll play things by ear.

I love hiking with all the dogs, but getting them away is a problem. My SUV is the one available vehicle that accommodates all of them simultaneously. Unfortunately, my oldest dogs are arthritic, can’t easily leap into the SUV, and will ignore a loading ramp. They still can jump into my old Jeep, but it’s away for repairs.

It’ll help to think creatively. Then, three days off will allow for figuring out how to load everybody. For starters, I’ll give all the dogs some ramp training. Although ramping-up training wasn’t successful previously, it’s now essential.

It’s predicted that we’ll receive new snow. If so, I won’t be outside and training but inside and reading.

Dear Friends: Have a great day. Diana

Saturday, February 04, 2023

The header image is of a female Fantail Beta in my small aquarium. It’s a perfect capture of grace and beauty.

Public Television has ignored viewers like me in changing from “Plus” to “World.” One of my favorite PBS shows is Amanpour & Co., which appeared nightly at the awful hour of 10 p.m. Awful because I had to stay awake waiting for its start.

I had this same problem with the wonderful 10 p.m. PBS series that preceded Amanpour, the nightly roundtable interviews by Charlie Rose. He was one of the brightest and best interviewers ever. His talent and guests were legendary until several years ago when Rose disgraced himself. He was discovered using his influence to be a sexual predator.

My disappointment at Charlie’s exit from PBS softened when his replacement turned out to be Christiane Amanpour. Her past experience included a wealth of international frontline reporting. A talented interviewer, she routinely could ask direct tough questions and could respond appropriately.

In its change from, Plus to World, PBS reset Amanpour & Co., so that now, it’s at 1 a.m. So, I must catch it on sleepless nights or on another day online with PBS Passport.

Years ago, I asked PBS why Charlie’s interviews didn’t have an earlier time slot. I learned that Charlie didn’t have enough viewers. It’s probably the same with Christiane’s series. Now that it’s in a more awful time slot, I’ll be saved by Passport. I always will wonder why great shows don’t attract more viewers.

Dear Friends: On reflection, viewing is influenced highly by one’s politics and worldviews. Diana

Friday, February 03, 2023

I have begun reading The Tale of Genji. This ancient work in translation is a straightforward read, and contrary to my expectations, it’s easy to follow. It was written at the beginning of the 11th Century by Murasaki Shikibu, a noblewoman in the Heian Japanese Court. The Court’s official language was Chinese, but Shikibu wrote in Japanese.

In the Heian period, the court language was Chinese. The Japanese language was primarily used by women. So, Shikibu’s work wasn’t taken seriously. In addition, most of her story was written in prose, which wasn’t considered equal to poetry. Shikibu’s story has 54 chapters of prose infused with Japanese and Chinese poetry; it has one main character and is regarded as the world’s first novel.

Murasaki Shikibu, 973-1014, was a Japanese novelist, poet, and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court in the Heian period. That time was the peak of the Japanese imperial court, noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Traditionally, Heian women weren’t considered intelligent enough to be taught Chinese, which excluded them from the written language of the government. But Murasaki was raised in an erudite father’s household and showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics. As a result, she acquired fluency, becoming a unique figure as a woman master of the Chinese language and classics.

Murasaki is a fascinating individual, and I have ordered her diary.

All this is preparatory and background before I read the mid-1950s classic novel, Masks, by Japanese writer Fumiko Enchi. Like Shikibu, Enchi was a precocious child who became a fascinating writer. For Masks, she borrowed themes from The Tale of Genji.

Dear Friends: Sadly, but fortunately, I’m a late starter to Asian literature. Diana

  

Thursday, February 02, 2023

I’m surprised to be about to start reading this ancient Japanese tale, supposedly the world’s first novel. Written by Murasaki Shikibu, born in 978; she was a poet in the court of Empress Akiko.

This is all because I had begun reading, Masks, a novel by Fumiko Enchi. Written in 1958, it’s considered an essential, beautifully written Japanese classic authored by a woman. I was struck by the story’s excellent writing and interesting pace early on. Then, I looked into reviews and discovered that Masks incorporates themes from The Tale of Genji, which is recommended background reading. So, I’ll read the ancient fantasy and then resume Masks.

If I’m aiming to read a modern classic that originated in a non-English language, I should prepare in the best possible manner by doing the background work. Rather than tackling these readings independently, I’d prefer to participate in a literature class with a subject matter expert. But what the heck, I’ll go for it as a challenge.

Dear Friends: I’ll dream about ancient Japanese literature on this beautiful day at work. Diana

Wednesday, February 01, 2023

It’s too early for the Robins. But nevertheless, I’m drawn to this springlike image from my archive. I eagerly await the Robins’ return, signaling that winter is over and livening up the territory. Robins, alert and determined, are the “Border Collies of Birds.”

My times in an orange apron and working in the Garden Department had me averaging 12K steps daily. That includes my steps at home. The Garden Department isn’t even busy right now, so we’re fronting and facing merchandise and filling shelves. We expect the department to become a madhouse in a couple of weeks when the plants start arriving.

For the rest of this week, I’ll have to sit and learn by video again. But some videos should make more sense because I’ve worked on the floor. So that could make them more interesting and less brain-freezing.

After clocking out, while leaving the store, I pick up small missing items at home, for which I’m always searching, like bungee cords, rope, and certain screws and nails. I will avoid large interesting items until I hear from customers about how they work and if they’re worthy. The coolest thing about being a salesperson is learning from customers.

Dear Friends: The videos will end, the flowers will arrive, and the Robins will return. Diana

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

This is the last day of this year’s first dark month. And it’s still cold!

Yesterday at Home Depot, instead of watching videos, I spent hours receiving real-time training in the Garden Department. I’d been prepped by my previous job at Wilco, which carries garden and hardware products. So I knew a little about customer needs, the importance of providing service, and how to tidy shelves.

At HD, I will shadow a crew member for a couple of weeks and then follow the department manager for a while. My first day was interesting because we discovered four Traeger Grills mislabeled and “lost” somewhere. My team had to find them, so we walked every aisle. Looking at possible locations meant staring straight upward at aisle shelves’ high tops. A couple of hours gave me a stiff neck but got me near achieving that day’s 10,000 steps. My coworker said that some days while working, she walks 18,000 steps!

As I walked the aisles, employees in all departments voluntarily introduced themselves and welcomed me to the team. The women workers represent all age groups, and most told me they love working at HD. That big store is kind of homey.

Speaking of home, since yesterday was freezing, I let my dogs stay inside when I left for work. Later when I returned, little Mitzvah was first to notice someone entering; her racket woke the other dogs. After letting them outside, I inspected the house; it was clean as a whistle. Great pups!

Mitzvah is as quick as Osix, and sometimes faster, to notice bark-worthy events. Osix has been our earliest town crier, but Mitzvah is an equal. As to the other pups, Miles is our best watchdog, and Ranger is pretty good. And to now, the no-Chiweenie, Chase, is useless, but O so sweet.

Dear Friends: I will give, for free, fresh (and unwashed) eggs to anyone who’ll pick them up. Diana

Monday, January 30, 2023

OMG, how about Zero Degrees! That was yesterday morning’s temperature. It included freezing winds. An incoming gust felt numbing when I opened the door to let the dogs outside. Later, I bundled up to feed horses and chickens, but my heavy wool coat and hat didn’t offset instant face numbing. So I hurried back into the house to my winterwear stash and searched for a face cover.

Almost immediately, my gloves failed, and my fingers began freezing. An infrared heater in the barn helps but thawing fingers are briefly uncomfortable. Usually, a one-time infrared thaw is all that’s needed, but yesterday my fingers quickly began to refreeze.

Meanwhile, my neighbor, Bill, posted on Facebook that Central Oregon’s zero temperature was thirteen degrees colder than Nome, Alaska. I felt every bit of that while outside.

After early feeding my horses, chickens, and goat, I spent most of the day inside with the dogs. I had several later feeding tasks, but outside was sunny, and follow on treks were a little warmer.

Today starts a new warming trend expected to last through the week.

Dear Friends: Thankfully, this area rarely experiences such extremely low temperatures. Diana

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Last night, a little blizzard hit this area and left it snow-covered. This morning’s temps in the early twenties will mean having my dogs mostly inside until it gets warmer. I understand that tomorrow will begin another warming trend.

I’ve worked my way through all the training videos assigned so far at Home Depot. So today I’ll stay home. I will hang out and watch if more beautiful big flakes happen to fall. Otherwise, I will catch up on chores and return to a stack of reading materials.

My new renter, Jan, will soon start moving in and officially reside here in a couple of weeks. We’ve known each other for years, and the arrangement should work well. Of course, it will have me making the big adjustment of living with another person, but the change offers mutual benefits. She’ll be happier here than where she’s been living, and I will welcome help with the property and animals. Plus, since Jan works at Costco, a text can deliver something needed at home.

Dear Friends: There is never a dull moment around here, and new adventures are ahead. Diana