A 50th Anniversary

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I posted about my parents’ 70th anniversary back in December; now I am celebrating my own 50th wedding anniversary with my husband. The anniversary prompts me to think about those 50 years of shared life from different perspectives.

Our external focus shifted through the years:

  • For the first 10 years, we were completing our education – a PhD for him, a masters for me. I was working full time during those years…not thinking about computer science as a career for the first 5 years but gradually realizing that I liked the work too much to switch fields. From the beginning he seemed to have a clearer idea of what he wanted to do. We were the first in both our families to go beyond an undergraduate degree.

  • We moved to the east coast for my husband’s work; it was a great career move for me too. We were both focused on our careers for about 5 years.

  • Then we decided to have a child and took the precautions needed for a successful pregnancy in our mid-30s. We thought we were prepared when our daughter was born but quickly realized that there was a learning curve that was just beginning. Between the two of us we successfully juggled parenting and careers…until she went off to college 20 years later.

  • There were 5 years of career focus with occasional bursts of activity to help my daughter move out of the dorm into an apartment, get to an internship, or move for graduate school. The internship and graduate school were more than halfway across the US!

  • 10 years ago - I retired and my husband started a ramp down from his career that continued for several years.

We’ve lived in several states over the 50 years: Texas for 10, Virginia for 3, Maryland for 36.5, Missouri for .5 years. The two long haul moves (from Texas to Virginia and from Maryland to Missouri) were quite different. We had a lot more household items to move the second time, the technology of finding a new house/selling our old one had improved dramatically, and we were able to buy our current house rather than get a mortgage.

Our shared interests have evolved over the years.

  • Photography. My husband was the one that enjoyed photography from the beginning….doing his own black/white and color developing (and printing too). I remember in our first house when one of the developing chemicals was not diluted enough when he poured it down the kitchen sink and it dissolved the disposal flaps! We have a lot of negatives and slides from those pre-digital years. The transition to digital happened about the time our daughter was old enough to start taking pictures. My interest in photography picked up a little when my daughter was born but ramped up dramatically once I retired.

  • Travel. From the very beginning we’ve both enjoyed day trips and vacations to outdoor destinations: gardens, state parks, and national parks. In the beginning, we economized by car/tent camping and not eating out. By the time we moved to Virginia we could afford flying, staying in hotels, and eating out although the road trip still dominated our vacations. When my daughter was born, we shifted our accommodations to ones that had a small kitchen to accommodate her food requirements/preferences. Some of our travel was associated with either my career or my husband’s…so that part of the travel was paid for as part of our work. After she got older and as we travelled more on our own, we enjoyed short term house rentals. For a few years before the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I used birding festivals as a focus for our travels.

  • Astronomy. My husband was interested in astronomy before I knew him. One of our early dates included a lunar eclipse at the local astronomy club’s observatory. In the early years of our marriage, we participated in grazing occultations (stars and the mountains of the moon); my role was to help him get the telescope set up as quickly as possible in the assigned location so he could take the measurements. Later I used the cast iron telescope mount to add weight in the back of my rear-wheel drive car – to give it more traction on snowy days in Virginia. His astronomy activity ebbed although he did replace his telescope; we (daughter included) observed the sunrise in 2000…our celebration of the new millennium. Once he retired, he became active the local astronomy club in Maryland and we both camped on the field for a star party at a dark sky site in Virginia several times; he liked the dark sky (and being able to call it a night whenever he got tired) and I enjoyed being outdoors, hiking during the day.

A lot has happened in 50 years and we’re both realizing how fortunate we are that the big decision we made all those years ago was a good one for both of us!

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 14, 2023

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Study investigates source of Amazon’s “Dark Earth” – Created intentionally? It is less acidic than surrounding soils…probably from the addition of ash.

New York City Greenery Absorbing All Traffic Emissions on Many Summer Days – There is a lot more greenery that previously thought…looking beyond parks to modest backyards, shrubbery growing in vacant lots, and trees dotting city sidewalks. That’s good for the summer when everything is green and growing….but it also implies that winter air quality is problematic.

‘Stomp’ Performers Hang Up their Garbage Lids – After 3 decades off-Broadway. Watch the video!

Riddle solved: why is Roman concrete so durable? – It wasn’t just volcanic ash that made Roman concrete better…lime clasts play a self-healing role!

Why is every parking lot covered with solar panels? – Evidently Michigan State has done it…hopefully other universities and big box stores do similar projects. 

How the war in Ukraine is killing marine mammals – The dolphins that were washing up on the shore of the Black Sea prior to the war were few and usually had markings suggesting entanglement in fishing gear.  The theory about the increased number appearing now, without marks, is that the dolphins are experiencing acoustic trauma from the increased use of sonar by Russian submarines.

Climate impact labels on sample food menu had strong effect on food selection – A study done by Johns Hopkins. The result indicate that this kind of labelling could promote more sustainable choices….and have positive health benefits as well!

Aerial Photos Capture the Abstract Beauty of Salt Ponds – From a new book….with images and background about these man-made landscapes.

Great Salt Lake will disappear in 5 years without a massive ‘emergency rescue’ – My husband and I visited the lake back in 2008. The pictures in the article are so different that I needed the captions to recognize the place. The lake was already shrinking in 2008 but the shrinking has increased with long term drought and increased population diverting more water that would otherwise flow into the lake. Aside from the ecological collapse if the lake goes dry, the dust from the dry lakebed is kicked up by winds and can damage lungs/exacerbate other respiratory illness. This does not bode well for public health in Salt Lake City.

Painted skulls from Peru’s Chincha Valley analyzed – The red paint on the skulls was not all the same on all the skulls: some have iron-based ochres and others have mercury-based cinnabar….the red paint on one of the skulls was a combination of the two!

Burma in 1925

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Paul Edmonds visited Burma and wrote a book published in 1925 Peacocks and Pagodas that is available from Internet Archive. I enjoyed the illustrations.

The author is not as judgmental as many European writers of travel books in the 1920s; he acknowledges the cultural difference: “The Burman know that happiness is better than wealth” --- whereas “The Englishman believes that wealth is better than happiness, or at least synonymous with it.” He frees himself to simply observe by getting that difference acknowledged from the beginning…also recognizing that the colonial system will try to force Burmese culture to move toward the European/English, perhaps destroying the focus on happiness over wealth entirely.

And here we are 100 years later….so many people still conflicted about the relationship between wealth and happiness.

A Springfield, Missouri Yard

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My daughter hosted lunch last week at her house. While we were waiting for it to be delivered, I bundled up and walked around her yard; I hadn’t been there since she and I handled the fall leaves back in November. The day was cold, breezy, and sunny.

I enjoyed the textures and colors of the plants left from last summer: leaves of low growing plants in a protected bed with green veins, dry flowers, plants collapsed and curled by frost.

There were seed pods from redbud (a cluster still on the tree!), maple, cones, and magnolia (alas, all the red seeds were gone from all the magnolia pods).

I found myself looking for green – noticing moss and weeds on the brick/stone walkways,

Boxwood, other evergreens along the shady path on the east side of the house, and a fresh magnolia leaf wedged in a pile of leaves from last fall.

I was very pleased that the large piles of leaf mulch my daughter and I made around some of the trees stayed in place. She’ll have less to mow around the trees next summer!

Cancer Diary – Entry 13

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It’s been a year since my cancer surgery. All the diagnostics at the one-year mark show that I am cancer free….so the surgery was a success.

My last post was 4 weeks after the surgery but now I realize I should have done a post at 8 weeks since that is when the hematoma was finally gone. And two weeks later, in the area where the last hematoma color had been, cellulitis developed. The cellulitis might have been unrelated to the surgery, but it was a first instance of cellulitis for me…disconcerting; it was quickly resolved by antibiotics (unfortunately, I develop a reaction to the first type prescribed right after the second dose).

My fingernails became very brittle in the spring. They have returned to normal now. I suspect that the surgery and associated medication change might have been an issue but that my body had recovered/acclimated at this point.

The scar and puckering around it are not fading as quickly as I expected – perhaps because of skin sensitivity to the recommended topical vitamin E and/or cocoa butter and sunscreen, developing hives in the scar area (reaction to an antibiotic), and the silicon patches not being as effective as advertised. My current strategy is to cover the scar when I am out in the sun (rather than using sunscreen) and to use the mildest of moisturizers.

My cancer was detected early before it impacted my perception of health, and the surgery happened expeditiously. A year later, I am feeling healthy (almost like I felt before the surgery) but 2022 had the most health related ups and downs of my life!

Previous cancer diary posts:

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – December 2022

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Back in November, I stopped at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on my way down to Carrollton, TX. It is just outside Sherman, TX…a little over an hour away from my destination. The refuge was active in the early afternoon…with some migrants still around (link to November post).

In December, I opted to do a quick drive through on my way home so it was in the morning about an hour after sunrise; it was not a great time for seeing large numbers of birds. It was too late to see birds that had roosted in the ponds…and it was too cold and windy to linger very long with the windows open (I was using my car as a mobile blind).

I enjoyed seeing a flock of male red-winged blackbirds in stubble near the road….rise up as a group then coming back down like a wave crashing on beach to feed again…repeat. Their red and yellow markings were flashing every time they started up out of the dried vegetation and when they landed again.

A heron stood in the shallows with its feathers ruffled by the wind. The day was still new enough for the water to be morning blue.

I also saw a Harrier Hawk – hunting…circling over the stubble and water’s edge. I didn’t get a picture, unfortunately, but I spent a few minutes watching the awesome grace of the bird dealing with the wind and looking for breakfast.

The clouds began to cover the sun periodically and I took some refuge landscape shots – complete with oil pump jacks (it is Texas).

The pintails, mallards, and shovelers were around….enjoying the bounty of the refuge.

Gulls were mostly staying put in the shallows.

My plan is to stop at the refuge as I continue to make monthly treks to Carrollton…see the changes at the refuge as the winter progresses….and then the spring migration and flowers.

Carrollton Sunrises/Sunsets

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There were two sunsets I captured before Christmas when I was in Carrollton TX. The first is from my parents’ house….framed by neighborhood trees. The second is from a hotel parking lot on another evening; on a hill, and a lot more clouds to reflect the light…a very different sunset with very intense color.

After Christmas, I was up early enough to photograph the sunrise from my parents’ house on two mornings. I got almost the same view. Clouds made a big difference.

My favorite sunrise picture was on the same day as the second picture above – but includes tree silhouettes. I like the colorful backlight.

Sunrise is my favorite time of day…full of hope for the new day…celebrating the joy of being a morning person.

Frost Flowers from Christmas Day

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Christmas morning in Carrollton was very cold. It was a rare morning when my car had been outside overnight…and the conditions were right for frost flowers (fortunately on the metal rather than the glass). I was bundled up well enough to take a few pictures with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e) before I left the hotel. It was just after dawn…a little serendipity to begin the day.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 7, 2023

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Macro Photos Highlight the Diverse Beauty of Butterfly Pupae – The pupae are Asian species….so no Monarch chrysalis (which is my favorite).

Good hydration linked to healthy aging – The findings don’t prove a causal effect…but hydration is linked to serum sodium…and chronic high serum sodium (i.e. when a person is dehydrated frequently) increases risk of developing chronic diseases like heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation and peripheral artery disease, etc.

The Infrastructure Sector Is Bleeding Workers – The workforce is aging…more are nearing retirement…and younger people are not coming into the jobs fast enough.

This new year – decarbonize your life – The beginning of a series about a family of 4…taking steps to dramatically reduce emissions and sequester carbon.

Gradient Arrangements of Food Highlights Biodiversity Not Often Seen in Supermarkets – Wow – what a range of colors and shapes in common fruits and veggies like: tomatoes, corn, potatoes, pears, peppers, squash, cucumber, kale, and beans.

Heat and cold as health hazards – Controlled experiments on how the body reacts to hot and cold…and the health consequences.

Water Worries: Threatened and Endangered Cultural Sites – Climate change has caused increasing severe rainstorms in the Southwest impacting the adobe walls  in Tumacácori National Historical Park in Arizona and Pecos National Historical Park in New Mexico. Storms, flooding and sea level rise are impacting other parks including Statue of Liberty National Monument, Colonial National Historical Park and the Jamestown Settlement, and Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. The tidal basin in Washington DC is crumbling as flooding increases as the Potomac River rises.

Researchers identify bird species depicted in ancient, finely detailed Egyptian painting – Click on the images to get a larger view of the birds. Key to the second image: a–f rock pigeons (Columba livia); g red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio); h white wagtail (Motacilla alba); i pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis); j–l unidentified.

How microplastics are infiltrating the food you eat – Right now microplastics are viewed as a contaminant but research is revealing they may have harmful impacts….and should be studied and regulated as a pollutant. Will systems that use sludge as fertilizer need to change dramatically? It appears likely.

2022 Year in Review: Top Stories from Around the National Park System – Flooding at Yellowstone, Mauna Loa eruption, drought at Glen Canyon, maintenance challenges, invasive species …crowds…a lot of big stories.

eBotanical Prints – December 2022

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Another 20 botanical books in December. I started out the month with 12 volumes about mosses of North America published by A. J. Grout; the Wikipedia entry says that he taught at Curtis High School in Staten Island from 1908 to 1930…and evidently kept his primary focus on mosses for his entire adult life.

This month also includes 2 books by Agnes Arber (a British botanist) and one by her husband Edward Alexander Newell Arber (a botanist/paleontologist). The Wikipedia article on Agnes reflects the challenging research situation for female academics of her time.

George Vasey was a British-born American botanist of the US Department of Agriculture. Three of his books about grasses finish out the December botanical print books.

The whole list of 2,532 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the December 2022 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the December 2022 eBotanical Prints!

Moss Flora Of North America Volume I  Part 1 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1936

Moss Flora Of North America Volume I  Part 2 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1936

Moss Flora Of North America Volume I  Part 4 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1939

Moss Flora Of North America Volume II  * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1940

Moss Flora Of North America Volume II Part 1 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1933

Moss Flora Of North America Volume II Part 2 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1935

Moss Flora Of North America Volume III * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1906

Moss Flora Of North America Volume III Part 1 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1928

Moss Flora Of North America Volume III Part 2 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1931

Moss Flora Of North America Volume III Part 3 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1932

Moss Flora Of North America Volume III Part 3 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1934

Moss Flora Of North America Volume II Part 3 * Grout, A. J. * sample image * 1935

Water Plants - A study of aquatic angiosperms * Arber, Agnes * sample image * 1920

Herbals, their origin and evolution; a chapter in the history of botany, 1470-1670 * Arber, Agnes * sample image * 1912

Devonian floras; a study of the origin of Cormophyta * Arber, Edward Alexander Newell; Arber, Agnes Robertson * sample image * 1921

The ferns (filicales) V1 * Bower, Frederick Orpen * sample image * 1928

Plant-life * Hall, Charles Albert * sample image * 1915

Illustrations of North American Grasses V1 - Grasses of the Southwest * Vasey, George * sample image * 1891

Illustrations of North American Grasses V2 - Grasses of the Pacific Slope * Vasey, George * sample image * 1893

The agricultural grasses of the United States * Vasey, George * sample image * 1884

Carrollton Yard – December 2022

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A few days after Christmas – a cold morning in Carrollton TX.

I ventured out a little after sunrise – when the clouds were still tinged with orange.

The oxalis edging the pavers that had all been green when I arrived a few days before Christmas had transformed to a layer of frozen, deteriorating leaves protecting a green layer underneath.

Even the kale was different after the very cold temperatures – oddly looking more like a light-colored flower with green leaves below.

As few minutes in the cold…the sky had brightened…I took one last picture and went indoors.

Josey Ranch – December 2022

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When I visited Josey Ranch Lake on a cold winter afternoon, there was a father with 2 children feeding the birds. I took a bird group picture that included most of the species on the water; it’s not a great picture with the shade/sun challenge but is probably good enough for some id. Can you find American Wigeons, American Coot, Mallards, Northern Shoveler, and Lesser Scaups?

Here are some better views of American Wigeons. It was challenging to see the green sheen on the male’s head.

There seem to be more male Mallards than females.

The Northern Shovelers were very active. They even climbed up on the bank to scarf up breadcrumbs after the children left.

Lesser Scaups have beautiful markings and rich color even in winter. They are smaller than the mallards.

A Great Egret was stoic in the regrowing reeds and cattails on the other side of the lake.

Gulls (immature ring-billed?) dive bombed for bread while it was being tossed…then gathered toward the middle of the lake…sometimes making a lot of noise.

The swans had participated in the bread eating frenzy, then regained their composure when it was over and calmly left the scene together. A male and female scaup looked on.

Overall – not a bad visit to the lake, but it was cold; I didn’t dawdle…took my pictures and headed back to the warmth of the car.

Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie – December 2022

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The landscape views of the pocket prairie looked very wintry during the cold snap at Christmas this year. The Pocket Prairie is sleeping.

I switched into macro photography mode (with my Samsung Galaxy S10e)…and found a few blooms, wilted greens, and lots of dried textures. Can you spot the dandelion flower in the slideshow below? There was more than one even though the nighttime temperatures were in the 20s and the sunny day temperature when I was walking around the area was barely into the 40s. I noticed that the flowers were very close to the ground and wondered if there was a microclimate that was sustaining the dandelion growth.

I noticed that the gardeners of the Pocket Prairie had put cardboard under mulch; it’s a good way to reduce weed growth and improve the soil at the same time. Some of the mulch had blown or washed away making the cardboard visible in some places; if the cardboard is too dry, the microbes and bugs won’t find it very palatable. I’ll have to remember that issue since I am going to use cardboard as part of the prep for the area I’ll plant with native shrubs in my back yard!

(Side note – January 3 was my grandfather’s birthday…122 years ago. He died in the 1970s but I have lots of memories of him that always flare into my thinking in the days around January 3rd.)

Zentangle® – December 2022

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31 tiles selected from those made in December. There were not as many to choose from as usual. My week in Carrollton was so busy that I didn’t make as many tiles…and crocheting was competing for time (and had priority since I was working on a lacy white scarf I wanted to wear during the holidays).

Most tiles are square this month…and include experiments with a variety of pens.

Enjoy the December 2022 mosaic!

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 31, 2022

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Best of 2022 - A Fun Map Puzzle – There are parts of the world where political boundaries have changed a lot since my elementary school geography class. The MapPuzzle game is a fun way refresh (or relearn) countries/states/provinces.

The year in chemistry: 2022’s biggest chemistry stories – I like these summary articles…and think about which one of the stories will be the most impactful in 2023.

Top 7 Building Decarbonization Wins In 2022 – Finally….now to maintain the momentum of these ‘wins’ and more into 2023!

Ten Remarkable New Plants Discovered in 2022 – And one of them is the largest waterlily on Earth…from Bolivia.

Shrinking Pollinator Populations Could Be Killing 427,000 People Per Year – The world is losing 3-5% of its fruit, vegetable, and nut production because of shrinking pollinator populations and lower pollinator diversity. That translates into less healthy food available…and associated health conditions like diabetes and heart disease. In Honduras, Nepal and Nigeria, the pollination deficits are responsible for a reduction of 3-19% in crop yields. This highlights the importance of making changes to support pollinator populations such as limiting pesticide use, maintaining existing natural habitats, and restoring others, and planting more flowers and diverse plants.

Overlooked Gems of The National Park System – In the cold of winter…time to plan some trips to parks for the year…including a few of the overlooked gems highlighted in this article.

Snow Day in Delmarva – Reminder of the area where we enjoyed a lot of day trips while we were living in Maryland….

Stunning Satellite Images of Our Changing Planet in 2022 – The before and after pictures have different elapsed times…be sure to read the captions.

22 Photos Honoring the Triumphs and Challenges That Face Wild Cats – A collection of pictures from Panthera, the world’s leading wildcat conservation organization.

Home Depot Does a Big Energy Deal, But It Does More Behind the Scenes – The Home Depot commitment is to produce or procure 100% renewable electricity equivalent to the needs of all its facilities by 2030 and they are taking actions to make it happen. Hope more big box stores will be taking similar actions.  

When I was a boy/girl in….

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In the early 1900s, Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard published a series of books written by immigrants about their early years in the country where they were born. The books were illustrated with photographs and a few drawings. The series is a reminder of how diverse the American population had become by the 1900s and provide a snapshot of growing up in the 1800s by people reflecting on their early years in a country they might never has seen again once they left. Enjoy the 18 books in the series available on Internet Archive!

When I was a boy in Armenia (1926) -- When I was a girl in Switzerland (1921)

Memorable Events of 2022

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2022 has been a year with more memorable events than most years.

My health. For most of the year, from the surgery at the beginning of the year until early fall, my health seemed to be sputtering; it was the longest period of my life to be uncertain that my health was good to excellent. Fortunately, it seems that I have recovered and am back to feeling as healthy as in recent years. Every other time I was concerned about my health was much shorter in duration: the month before and after pregnancy in 1989 and the month after a surgery in 2006.

Pets and family. 3 kittens…oh my! They are getting a little older now but still quite capable of causing havoc. The last time we had a kitten around was in 1985. The first baby in over 20 years has arrived in my extended family…and he adds a whole new dynamic to family gatherings. The milestone 70th anniversary of my parents adds to the list of memorable events in this category.

Home and Travel. Moving from Maryland to Missouri was a big undertaking and we’ll probably look back years from now, seeing it as a pivot point in our lives just as the move from Texas to the east coast In 1983 turned out to be. On a smaller scale, the week in London, Ontario was memorable for time spent in another country (the longest since my trip to Mexico City in 1966 when I was in elementary school) and the amount of time I was on my own in a new place.

Changes in the world. Queen Elizabeth II’s death is on my list this year because she was queen for my whole life…a constant in the world that I consciously knew would not last but that I will miss. The other change is one that reversed something that was constant for my entire adult life and increased my confidence that I would receive the care I needed when my husband and I decided to have a child (which we did successfully and without complications); when Roe v Wade was overturned, I became anxious that younger women will not have access to the same level of care that I did.

I am hoping that 2023 will be a little less memorable!

Zooming– December 2022

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Kittens – holiday lights – plants in winter – a great blue heron….pictures made possible by the Zooming capabilities of my three cameras: phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e), small point and shoot (Cannon PowerShot SX730 HS), and bridge (Canon PowerShot SX70 HS). The one I have with me all the time is the phone; the point and shoot fits in a coat pocket so it is easy to take along, the bridge camera I need for the optics (i.e. the greatest optical zoom of my cameras). Enjoy the December zoomed images!

Ten Little Celebrations – December 2022

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Ten little…and big…celebrations for December 2022. The big ones include:

A 70th wedding anniversary. That’s a lot of years for a relationship to thrive….and for both to still be healthy enough to enjoy life and the celebration!

Winter holiday. They happen every year, but it doesn’t reduce the joy of the virtually back-to-back family celebrations that flow into January: a birthday, an anniversary, Christmas, New Years and then another big anniversary. I’m celebrating now and savoring the anticipation of more still to come!

And then there are the little celebrations that are more like the other months of the year:

Finding puzzles. When I first started looking for puzzles, I didn’t find any that I likes and then I found 2 at a thrift store and another 4 at a pharmacy….and celebrated the finds!

Gardens Aglow at Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Celebrating a walk-through holiday light display in Springfield MO. If we hadn’t found it, I would be missing the Brookside Gardens lights in Maryland.

Getting the wreath on the door. The kittens prolonged the time it took to get our house decorated this year (some trial and error with how they would respond). The wreath was one of the last things we did…and I celebrated that the decorating was done!

Getting to stay home on a rainy day. Celebrating that I can usually rearrange plans to avoid getting out on a cold, rainy day!

Hot tea with orange peel. Celebrating a little hint of citrus….and probably the vitamin C as well.

Macro photography at Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Celebrating the beauty of native plants through all the seasons…..particularly close-up.

New glasses. This is my first time to get transition lenses. I am celebrating not needing to juggle my sunglasses on and off on road trips!

The plastic vase works. I was a little skeptical that the flat plastic vases would expand and hold a large bouquet....celebrated when the one I tried worked great! Now I feel more confident giving them as gifts!