Banking on Tomorrow

 Today is the 4th day of the 50th week, the 10th day of the 12th month, the 344th day of 2025 [ you have two weeks left for Christmas shopping ], and: Dewey Decimal System Day - how to say you're old without mentioning your age - remember looking up what you needed in the card catalog and then searching the stacks, hoping you memorized the number correctly? Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales Human Rights Day International Animal Rights Day International Traffic Light Day - for those signals that are non-electric Jane Addams Day   National Lager Day Nobel Prize Day  World Aszu' Day - an Hungarian sweet wine that has been produced for at least 450 years    and Voyager 1 is currently ~23h 32m 36s of light travel time from Earth Quote of the day: " We’re told that you can’t change what happened in the past, but you can change how you frame it. And we’re offered a range of different lenses: acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude. " ~  Noelle Oxenhandler...

  Lonely Tree, Czech Republic Martin Morávek / The 12th International Landscape Photographer of the Year

  Image Credit & Copyright: Giorgia Hofer Astronomy Picture of the Day

  This has been a tough year for the family:  various falls and illnesses, acute worry over the political situation, financial concerns, the disintegration of my daughter's family, and the loss of my son.  So when Alexa chattily asked the hackneyed question " What are you thankful for, Carol? " I was at a loss for words.   And the first thing that popped into my mind?  my home.  I am living in a lovely apartment that is comfortable, secure, close to my daughter, and I am surrounded by friendly folks.  I don't worry about where my car is parked or if the elevator is going to work today or if the fire alarm is going to go off or if I am going to have water.  I have control over my heat and A/C and can set the temperature to whatever I like.  It was a tough transition after so many years in one place, and I still miss my view from the balcony, but over the year, this has become home.   Triscuit agrees.   Wherever you are...

  A cherry tree is sliced by the seasons of 2019. The photos were taken Jan. 13, March 31, Aug. 31 and Nov. 9. (Kevin Ambrose)

I'm still processing the difference between a blog post and an essay.  I tell stories here on my blog, and those narratives do indeed have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but I'm not sure they are essays per se.... The prompt I chose for today:   Describe a moment when everything changed. I had a dysfunctional family - no news flash for those who knew me, and even less informative as you realize that no one has what I have described as a "Norman Rockwell" family - it just doesn't exist except in some hazy golden era of nostalgia My father took off for parts unknown when I was in 8th grade, leaving my mother a pile of bills and a daughter who looked / sounded  much like him as far as appearances went at least.   To say my mother was bitter is an understatement.  To say she took it out on me is also an understatement.  She neither liked nor approved of me, and that was pretty tough because in her family, love was conditional - you met expectation...