ALRIGHTY THEN…

So, I decided to give Ash one more try, not because I feel an intense need to connect with him, but because he still owes me two classes. I asked him quite a while back if he would just give me feedback on my practice sheets in lieu of lessons, and he said he would do that. About a month ago, I sent him three or four practice sheets and heard nothing back. Two days ago, I tried again, and he sent me this. So, for anyone who thinks my work is so perfect, here’s the reality. Green marks are “good,” red needs work:

I told him that I would continue to repeat this page. I start my new classes with David Grimes on 4/1, so then I will be getting feedback from that group.

It was nice to get back to making cards again. Unfortunately, I do not have the proper card stock here, and it is not available in Boquete, so I had to order some from Amazon. In the meantime, I’m using a lighter paper, but it’s better than nothing.

I went for a hike yesterday with Barb, Barbara and Debra. We walked about 7 miles and then had lunch at Debra’s. She made a very green (mostly chard) quiche and a salad. Barb lent me a pair of hiking poles. I’m going to go back to walking down the hill and adding on some distance in town. I find that I cannot not walk. I don’t feel well if I skip it. I’m hoping my knees tolerate the hill. I’m going to stick to just every other day instead of every day. On the alternate days I’m doing the Primal Movements, which I like quite a lot.

I made the possible mistake of buying a bathroom scale. I’m five pounds over my happy weight. But what is more concerning (and I already knew this from a recent assessment), my body fat is 31.9%. For my height, this is on the border of “heavy.” I know, Kathy would be saying, “Oh, don’t worry about it!,” but, of course, I do. Not worry exactly, but I like to know that I am as healthy as possible, so I’m going to work on this. It’s just a calories thing. I’ve been eating indiscriminately, and Jerry doesn’t help. He loves baking and sharing. And I certainly don’t want to be rude.

The writing is going well. Kathie is back to work, even though Michael is still in the hospital. He’s improving, but some days he’s still confused. He thinks Kathie is his sister, instead of his wife. She’s doing well, all things considered. Unfortunately, the guy who hit Michael, is 75 years old, has a limited insurance policy and no other assets. So, they are pretty much on their own. Kathie has been very frustrated with the service they have received from Froedtert. She said that Michael was in the hospital for almost two weeks, and they still have not seen a doctor (only PA’s and NP’s) or a social worker. She’s trying to get him transferred to Waukesha Memorial. I have my next visit with her tomorrow morning. I’m hoping things will be finished before I go home.

I was happy to receive my “care package” from Michele and Kathy the other day: hairbands, stencils, moisturizer. calligraphy guidelines and more.

I should have had the card stock included. Oh well.

The auction is over tomorrow at 9 pm CST. I’m hoping there will be a surge before then. It’s a bit over 8K right now, but 10 would be even better.

https://new.biddingowl.com/LCUUCAUCTION2024

Yesterday, I watched Miss Americana, the documentary about Taylor Swift. I admit that I knew very little about her before watching this. Michele recommended it, so I thought I’d give it a watch. At first, I was quite underwhelmed. I didn’t appreciate anything unique or impressive about her as a child performer. Her voice was just so-so. Seemed like she was being pushed by doting parents. Then, as she matured as an artist and had the issue of the sexual assault to deal with, she transformed. About halfway through the film, I could see the attraction. She went through a period of emotional struggle after the court case, but rose from the ashes. I actually had goosebumps at one point when I felt the fearlessness of her personality come through. She’s definitely a force to be reckoned with. I look forward to seeing where she takes this. She is a great example of someone who is using their celebrity for the good of humankind.

Speaking of which, I just finished listening to Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson. I was happy that I had the experience of this book. Isaacson does a great job of giving us the facts about Elon’s personality. He includes extensive interviews with family, friends and intimate partners. Like Swift, I believe that Musk really wants to do something good for humanity. Unlike Swift, he has a very strong ego. He’s more concerned with competing with Bezos than saving humanity. I wish Musk would meet a good spiritual teacher somewhere along the way to give him a bit more information. He is very good at citing the first principles of the physical side of reality but seems less knowledgeable about the first principles of the spiritual side of things. He believes that he has to take humans to Mars in order to preserve human consciousness. What he doesn’t realize is that consciousness is not something that humans HAVE. We are just the latest permutation of the evolution of consciousness. If humans are wiped out here on Earth, consciousness will find some other way to manifest. It would be a beautiful thing if Musk focused more on making life better on Earth instead of messing up another planet. Okay, that’s my two cents’ worth…for now.

I love these photos that Sara posted recently on Facebook. She said, “If this doesn’t sum up my two children, I don’t know what does. Each of them has and maintains their own large tub of kinetic sand. One is order. One is chaos.”

Okay, that’s it for today. Time to move on to Spanish lessons. I just printed sample exams for the DELE (Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera – Diploma of Spanish as a foreign language).