I'm getting that early start again. It's just before 9 in the morning as I write this. It's been another crappy week, but I did get some good news. My mom had her visit with her doctor and despite the fact that It has been a major struggle lately to get her to eat anything, she has gained some weight back. I've been compensating with shakes whenever she won't eat, and I guess it's been working. I'd much rather her actually eat food, but lately it's been a couple of bites and she looses interest in it. It's almost like she forgets it's there, and then when I remind her, she gets angry, so the shakes will have to do. I'm hoping this is a phase, which she is prone to go through, I just have to ride it out.
I got my flu vaccine this week, so I'm going to ask you to do the same. From everything I've heard, that if you normally don't get the flu shot, this is the year to get it. With the Delta variant going wild right now and people losing their minds and fighting against getting the covid vaccine and wearing masks, the flu is going to be stronger than ever, and it will weaken you to covid, so get that shot. It's simple and fast.
I got a garden update. Just had to get a shot with the rose bush back in bloom. I haven't trimmed back the lantana yet, but it seems to have slowed it's growth a bit, and the turmeric is growing at a pretty decent pace. I do need to get in there and weed a little, but most of them are very small and need to grow out a bit more to be able to really get them out root and all, so here is the current garden situation.
Ok, time for a Pokemon related post. Not sure if I told you, but Oreo put out a limited edition collaboration with Pokemon. The goal is to find all 16 of the different Pokemon that they put on their normal cookie. There are a few that are considered rare, and the rarest is the Mew. Apparently people are buying that particular cookie on the internet for $60+. Well, I got me one, and then I ate it.
I did make sure to get that picture first to prove that I got one. Yes, I've been eating a lot of garbage this week, the stress has been immense lately, which reminds me about the doctor visit. It was a nurse practitioner that was new in the office that saw my mom this week, and she turned to me at one point, with definitive concern in her eyes and asked me how I was doing. I of course lied and said I was fine, but it was really wonderful to have some one ask that question without judgement. Until she asked me that, I didn't realize that I needed that question asked, even if I lied, it still seemed to make things a little better, for a minute anyway.
Back to Pokemon for a second. I'm back to needing a new friend for a research task so if you play and need a new friend, my player code is 7224 2001 3252, give me an add, it will be much appreciated. Also I found a hack for getting those kilometers in on the game, without actually walking. This was a creation out of necessity since I haven't been able to go on my walks. At first it was because Ri Ri was new and I couldn't leave her for long periods of time, then it was my mom changing her sleep schedule, so she was waking up earlier. I guess it all worked out at the right time since I wasn't taking my walks, but if you want to know what to do to get those kilometers in send me a message or a text. You can also send an email if you don't have my number My email address is counterfeitsquirrel@gmail.com. It's kind of a secret, so I'm not going to actually tell you how to do it here. To prove that this works though her is my character profile page that shows my current kilometers for the week.
Yes, that currently reads 134.9 kilometers for the week. I'm going to hit 150 before Monday morning at 9, which is when the new week begins in the Pokemon world. Using this little secret method, I've hatched 22 eggs of differing km requirements with only 1 incubator. I know, if you don't play the game that makes no sense what so ever, so you can actually switch to the next paragraph to get into something different. I've also been working on multiple buddies to reach best buddy status. I'd normally do one at a time, but each day I can fill their hearts so quickly that I've been doing up to 3 buddies a day to boost them up. I have 2 at great buddy status and 1 at ultra buddy. I'm hoping all those will be best buddy in a couple of weeks. It would normally take be a couple months to get that many best buddies in the game. I'm telling you this is a game changer if you play.
Ok, now for something more people can relate to. I've decided that once a week on Fridays, I will be posting on Instagram what I'm listening to. I'm calling it Friday Night Vinyl. I'm going to share this past Friday's post right here, but this will be the only time I do this. From now on, you will have to check Instagram for the post each Friday night. This week it was Tremonti on white marble vinyl. It's really cool looking.
I mean look how cool that is. Give that album a listen because Tremonti is super talented. He could be the lead singer of any band, but the current band he is in is Alter Bridge and they have Myles Kennedy who could be the lead guitarist of any band. Oh yeah, Tremonti is the lead guitarist of AB. Go give Myles a listen and then check out some AB.
Just had to post a picture of my sweet girl giving me the paw. Also I wanted to mention that I believe that she is deaf. Go figure that I would have another deaf dog in my life. I wondered why she wouldn't respond to her name, but then I started noticing little things. She doesn't flinch at sound at all, and if Morty is barking she doesn't respond to the bark, she only responds to seeing him all up in a commotion. This morning was a great example of that. She went charging at the fence because she saw a truck go by (she really hates trucks). Morty went charging after her, then she came back and settled down next to my chair. Morty took up his normal spot on the other side of the garden. Something stirred him up and he went charging to the fence again and barked up a storm, but Ri Ri didn't even notice, since he was out of her eye shot. I'm getting her a vet appointment soon and I'm going to ask them to test her hearing. This of course won't make any difference to me, but I would like to know if I'm correct or not, and it would explain why she just randomly barks at odd visuals. Things on the tv or even shadows at the window. I think they surprise her and that's why she barks.
It's time for Favorite Song of the Week. This is coming from a new artist, well, relatively new. You may remember when he burst onto the scene with Billy Ray Cyrus, doing a country/rap mashup sort of thing, with Old Town Road. It was a massive hit, even if you didn't search it out, you heard at least some of it. Well Lil Nas X is back with a brand new album and this one is different in all sorts of ways. He has created a stir by being unapologetically himself. This has upset some peoples sensibility because he is openly gay and has done what several other over sexualized male singers have done by exploiting women, but in his case it is men, and that scares some people. This album ranges from hardcore rap to a little bit emo, and because of that, it is fantastic, but I can only pick one song so I'm going with a tie to his past success. I give you Lil Nas X featuring Miley Cyrus with "Am I Dreaming".
What do you think of it? Leave a comment down below. By the way, the comments are working again which is the only reason I'm asking you to leave a comment. I want to interact with people again, since I can't see anyone in person anymore.
Ok, I'm calling it a week. I do have some plans for some pictures coming up, they will be self portraits. Not sure how they will turn out, but I'll be sharing them here and potentially on my photography instagram. Peace in and goodnight.
Yet another early post. I honestly was thinking about writing this a few hours ago, but thought that might be a bit of overkill with the early riser post. It's been another hard week, but I've made things work as best I could. I did make it to the record store, but I had to take my mom with me, which is a double edged sword. On the one hand it's good for her to get out, on the other hand, I have to be wary of her time tolerance. I almost made it. The good thing about the record store, if you didn't read last weeks post, you missed the link for the store. Go back and check it out. Anyway, with their new set up, they have that little listening room off to the side now that has a couch and comfy chair to just chill and hangout. That's were mom got to hang, right up until the time I was checking out. She began wandering for the door as we were finishing up, so I just missed the time limit.
Now for the epic score that I got this week. I was really excited about this record when I saw that they had it on their Discogs. It had one particular song that I was dying for, even since I was a little kid and they used to play it on the radio. I tried forever to get a pristine recording of it, but the DJ always talked over the intro and what not, but now I have a copy.
It's that first track on side 2 that I'm talking about. The disco version of the theme to Star Wars. It wasn't until after playing throughs the album that other songs hit me as familiar from the radio in those misspent days of my youth. Superman and 2001 were also played on the radio back in the day. I can't remember the exact price, but this was a $6 or $7 dollar find, and it's a great copy with no skips or jumps in it.
Since this week it seems that I'm going down memory lane with music, I'm just going to lay out a Paul Stanley appreciation post here. Paul Stanley is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the band KISS. I'm not a big fan of KISS, but I appreciate them. I mean as a kid I had the lamest of KISS albums, that being the Peter Criss solo album. I was a super fan of the Cat Man, which was Criss' character. That should show you how much of a fan of KISS I am. Anyway, I've always admired what they did, even though I was real excited about the music itself, and I follow Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons on Twitter. Paul recently caught Covid and had to cancel a few shows. The good thing is that he was fully vaccinated so the symptoms were mild, but even being that as it may Paul said that it was really rough and he still is experiencing some lingering effects, like getting winded easier when on stage. Here comes the appreciation part. I appreciate his effort to speak on how important the vaccine is, but more importantly how amazing he looks at the age of 69.
That's him about a week or so ago just before he was going to hit the stage. The finger is for the 1 hour mark. That's him in the iconic Starman makeup. Are you ready for the non makeup picture?
That picture was taken 2 days ago. The dude looks incredible for his age. He's really healthy with his eating and frequently posts pictures of himself in his bike helmet when he goes out for his daily bike rides. I mean come on, may we all look half that good at his age. Much respect Paul.
Ok, got a few more pictures before we hit the Favorite Song of the Week. Yeah, I'm just calling it now so you don't have to guess one song or thing. This first one is the halo effect that this weeks launch had. This is basically the rocket hitting a level in the atmosphere where it super heats the humidity in the sky and creates this super cool halo.
If you don't live in Florida it's a good chance you never get to experience this in the sky. These are the types of launches that I love. They aren't typical. Usually the sky lights up and you see the red/orange glare of the thrusters and it slowly dims out, but this was pretty epic. That V shaped light is the light coming from the engines and it lit up the sky longer that usual because of the humidity and the just past dusk launch time. It's not often I can watch a launch and say the is unique and this one truly was.
Next picture is of course a Morty appreciation post. Had to get a shot of the bestest boy in the whole world. Here is my buddy boy.
Now, I know Morty's age, which is 9, but it never really crossed my mind that he was old. That was until Ri Ri came along. She is of course a spry 4 year old, with terrier energy to spare. Morty was always the energetic one, and he still has that high energy, but with The Schnuggie around, who had 2 speeds (slow, and slower), Morty seemed really spry. I can see his age now, and that is a little sad. Ri Ri tires him out pretty quick, and I notice the gray hairs more. You can't see it in the picture but he's getting a little more salt in his pepper. All of this just reminds me that my time with him is running lower. The average lifespan of a pit bull is anywhere from 13-15 years of age. If I had my wish He would live forever, but wishes are for fools, and I know that isn't a possibility. I'm hoping for the 15 years, so I get another 6 years with the best dog ever, that would give me a solid 10 years with him. Here's to being a fool and wishing for those 6 more years.
Ok, time to travel back for Favorite Song of the Week. I'm going to let you experience the greatest side 2 opening song of all time. This is a song that just rips you out of your seat and makes you want to move, and it's the opening track on a side 2. That should already tell you who the artist is, but I'm gong to stay vague a little while longer. This was considered a follow album for this artist largest success. They had just come off the success of their last two albums, and this was a long anticipated record that was supposed to overcome everything that had come before, but critics took all the shots at it. The true fans saw the evolution of the artist and loved this album, and it is one of the great albums out there. This is a play from the beginning to the end record (tape, cd, download). Like the two previous albums from this artist, there are no bad songs. Yeah there are some better than others, but when you break it down, every song on this album could have been a hit single. The critics decide that the artist went too far from their sound, which wasn't at all true, but since things changed and moved forwards, critics couldn't handle it, and this was the so called beginning of the downfall. It wasn't. Any guesses as to who it is yet? Ok I won't leave you guessing any longer, it's none other than Prince & the Revolution, and this is the side 2 opening track from Around the World in a Day. I gleefully present to you Prince & the Revolution with "America".
I mean come on. I may be biased, but in my opinion I think every band should open side 2 of the record with that track. Not a cover, or an interpretation, but that very track. I really hope you watched the whole video, because this showcases exactly everything Prince, and just how incredible a performer and musician he truly was. This video is everything Prince.
There is so much more I could talk about, remind me next week to talk about the Movie Everybody's talking about Jamie. Spoiler, it's fantastic. Oh, I'm getting closer to getting my mind around the David Bowie bench. It won't be like the photo I shared with you, but it will be a Bowie bench. I'm just working out in my head how to assemble and then paint it. Ok, i'm outta here, Peace in and goodnight.
What? Another early post? Yep, and I have to say that I'm loving getting this done early in the day. It's not like this takes up a ton of time to do, but when I do it early, I no longer have to worry about doing it at the last minute, which was mostly the case. This week was rather uneventful, but I did have a worthy moment early in the week. The record store I've been going to had been closed for the last two weeks, as they renovated and expanded. This is a true indie record store. It's proudly female owned and operated and is just a rad place. They originally had two bays of a strip mall, with one bay mostly being a display window and a storage area for records that they hadn't gone through to clean and where they kept orders for their online store. Yeah, they have an online store so if you want to check that out, you can go right here Savvy-Vinyl That is part of discogs which is an online source for record sales, new, used, rare, you get the picture. Anyway, back to the store. That old storage area is now a small quaint little lounge area with couches and chairs and it also houses all the 45s. The second bay was the showroom as to say. It was full of all their records for sale. They mostly had used vinyl, that they would go through and check then rate. They do a great job on their rating, and pretty much under rate each record, so when you get one that is considered Very Fine by them, you are getting one that is VF+ or even near mint. They had a very small area in the front for new vinyl and then a small magazine rack with a few more new items. Well, with the expansion they opened up a third bay, that the front is all new vinyl and box sets, and even a few music related knick knacks (t-shirts, Funkos, little Matchbox cars, all music and band related).
I got to make it down there on the first day of their re-open, but their grand re-opening was on Friday, which was a few days later. I managed to pick up a pristine copy of Billy Joel's Glass Houses, for $7. I love that record, I had the 8 track when I was a kid, so when I played it a whole bunch of memories came back to me. If you are into vinyl, and in the area, check them out in Melbourne, Savvy-Vinyl Records. If you are lucky you will get to meet the owners little dog, that is so awesome. I always give her all the pets when I walk in and she is there. If you aren't in the area, check out that link above and get you some great new(used or actually new) vinyl.
Ok, this a little brag, my beard has been looking exceptional lately, and I had to get a picture this morning, this was soon after waking up, so no brushing or washing, just wake and wear. It's a little crunched from sleeping, but still has a great look to it.
You may have noticed that it is undyed. I haven't dyed the beard in about two months, to get all the color out of it. I'm going to dye it again, but I'm not sure what color. I'm going to ask for your help on this one. Here are the colors I have; aquamarine, dark blue, purple (of course), vampire red, and pink. This might be the best time for pink since there is no color in there to throw it off, but don't let that lead you on your decision. Just leave a comment below (this blog, not Facebook) and whatever one is chosen the most will be the next color I do. By the way, the comments section on here is fixed and I am able to reply once again. I really don't know what happened with all that, but comments are much appreciated here.
One last picture before Favorite Thing of the Week (it's a song), This is a picture of my Moringa tree that I thought was done for. If you remember, I had this tree in a pot and the main root had grown through the bottom and found it's way into the ground. A storm came up one day with really strong winds and blew the whole thing over, breaking the root in half. I took a shot and transplanted it in the front yard and it has thrived. I really didn't think it would make it, but it has. The thing about the Moringa is that every part of it is edible and is a complete source of protein, pretty awesome right. Well a new thing has begun with it, it has finally produced it's seed pod, or beans if you will. I know you can cook these up, but I'm not really sure how just now, but I'm waiting until it fully forms so I can harvest seeds from it. The seeds are huge by the way, there are the size of a jumbo gumball. These aren't there yet, but the first one that has grown is enormous, I measured it about a week ago and it was at the 2 foot mark, it has grown since then, but I haven't taken a new measurement. It's a pretty exciting thing to watch (I know, my idea of excitement is way different than yours).
If you look right in center you can see the pod and how long it is. I learned through this that they come from the flower stems, but I don't think, like peppers or other fruiting plants, that the flower is what results in the pod. I'm watching the other flower stems to confirm this. There are currently three pods on it right now with 4 more flower stems, you can see a few of them in the picture. They are the tiny white flowers. Oh, the flowers taste a little like cotton candy, and the leaves have a lemony taste to them. Yes, I have eaten them, I haven't tried the pod, or a stem yet (you are supposed to be able to eat the stem itself). I'll let you know what it tastes like if I ever do though.
Ok, time for Favorite Song of the Week. I'm taking a small break from Halsey, (I've still listened to all r parts of that album each day though) and going with a legend. This is a new song released earlier this year, but I just came across it. It is none other than punk icon Iggy Pop. This is oddly enough a jazz collaboration with Dr. Lonnie Smith, which harkens back to memories of Dr. John (If you don't know who that is, you better be looking them up and listening.). Ha, just looking up the video for this song and I realized I was wrong, this song just came out, so I didn't really miss it at all (this is when I think I'm awesome). Here is Dr. Lonnie Smith with Iggy Pop on their new song, "Move Your Hand".
Come on, Iggy can do no wrong. That is a great jam right there, and if you like that, please go back and look up Dr. John.
Just finished a 38 hour fast this morning, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with that break fast meal, or have something else a little later, but I broke it pretty big; 3 eggs, with spinach, kalamata olives, and cheese. I also had 6 strip of bacon and a cup and a half of blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries, with a quest bar on the side. I'm not sure of the exact calories, but I'd put it in the 1200 range. I know, you are thinking it's more, but it really isn't the bacon and eggs are around 650, the cheese spinach and olives are around 200, the berries around a hundred, and the bar is 180, so in reality it's probably more like a 1000 calories. I could punch it all in and find out for sure. Ok, I guess I'll do it. Ok, tabbed it all in and it came to 1102 calories. I was forgetting to add the Olive Oil I made the eggs in. Every little bit counts. Now that I'm looking at it, I may have some macadamia nuts later. That will be an additional 200 calories to that total, so 1302 for the day. Yes, that will be a lower calorie intake day, but it's not unusual for me to eat that low of a calorie total. When you eat right you actually need less. Just to let you know, I'm grooving to this Dr. Lonnie Smith album now and it's freaking great, really give that song above a listen, look up this album and of course Dr. John, really that guy is amazing.
Ok, I think I've tired your eyes enough for this week. Peace in and goodnight.
Well, it's been another horrible trainwreck of a week, but I'm just going to leave it at that. I kept my eating moderate and didn't go crazy despite what's been going on in my life. I consider that a victory. I did weigh in once this week, I really don't remember which day at this point, but I do remember the weight. I clocked in at 166.6lbs, so I'm maintaining just fine.
I owe this weeks mental strength to Morty, Ri Ri, and the new Halsey album.. I've been listening to it just about non-stop, and I found out that the guitar part on the song I shared last week was none other than Lindsey Buckingham. If you don't know who that is, first off, what is wrong with you? Second he was a founding member of Fleetwood Mac. There is one other guest musician on the album that stood out to me and that is the one and only Dave Grohl. He plays drums on the track Honey. I'd share that one with you, but I have another one in mind for today, and that will be coming up soon.
I've been drying reaper peppers for weeks now. Every time I get a bunch of them I would dry them and let them sit. This week I finally ground them up and made powder.
I'm not really sure how many that is, but I believe it is in the range of 40 or so. When I was putting in that little container, I had dust on my gloves, so I gave it the old tongue test. That tiny amount had a burn that lasted about a half hour. It wasn't intense the whole time, and the height of heat wasn't too bad at all. I'm sure that was because it was only a dab, so I'll see some time this week what a good pinch will do to me. My tolerance is very low compared to what it was, but I'd say it's still pretty high compared to most people.
If you haven't figured it out, this is another early post. I have been waking up around 2:30 AM. I usually just lay there and doze in and out of conscientiousness until around 5 AM, when I usually get out of bed. Today I got up early to let the dogs out and then head out to spin pokestops so I would have pokeballs for the day. It's kind of nice driving around at 5:30 in the morning with the dogs in tow. These little jaunts have made Morty much better in the car. He no longer gets anxious, now it's mostly excitement and Ri Ri is just as come as can be. She is definitely a car dog, until a truck of any kind enters the scene, then it's very loud barking. I was warned of her aversion to trucks, but it is funny to me every time. That girl does not like trucks.
I'm going to get a little political here, because frankly I've had nothing to write about today, well nothing that I'm willing to share, and I've been just giving you as much as I can. If you didn't notice the big events that happened in Texas this week, then you are clearly living under a rock. This is going to be my 2 cents. It is not my place as a man to dictate what a woman can and can't do with her body. This new law is draconian at the very least and dangerous at the most.. It's offering up bounties for people to turn against one another, and it is enabling other states to do the same. Florida ha already announced that they are writing up a similar bill, and I'm going to say this loud and clear right now.. If you or anyone you know needs an abortion and needs transportation and and escort, I will do it. Let them come for me. I will use the law against them and file a countersuit of invasion of privacy. There are sites out there that are allowing you to spam the Texas tattletale site. I don't have links but I do implore you to look them up. A lot of people have been putting in very obvious fictitious information, for example: Shrek drove Fiona to get an abortion. Although this clogs up the site, I've seen people that say you should make it look as credible as possible so that it results in them having to use actual resources to investigate false claims. This is a net loss for them and actually does hurt them doing what they want to do. GoDaddy has given them a week to find a new host domain for them, so they will probably go offline for a short while, but they will be back and when they do spam them like you've never spammed anything. That's my 2 cents.
I almost forgot, I have puppy pictures for you. Ri Ri was being adorable in multiple ways this week. First she climbed up on the outside table like she was a billygoat.
Then she sat down in the chair next to me, like it was the thing to do. She is usually very much having to be right next to me, and when I move she moves, so the fact that she stayed in the chair so I could get this shot is outstanding.
Now how can you look at that and not laugh and say aww at the same time. She is freaking adorable, and a little bit of a weirdo, but that's why I love her. Sorry no pictures of The Mort this week. He was just his plain ol' awesome self. Oh, he has been very much more clingy lately, I think it's because Ri Ri is a bit forceful in her affection for me, and Morty has met his match in the "I need attention" department. Ri Ri hasn't figure out how to get on the bed yet, so nighttime is Morty time. He has come in and slept with me each and every night since she came home with me. He has also been more of a snuggler too, which is very unusual for him. Usually if I try to snuggle with him, he thinks that means he is supposed to get the pets, but now he just lays there and lets me snuggle up with him. I'm liking this new Morty, not that I didn't like him before. After all, he is the greatest dog of all time.
It's time for Favorite Song of the Week. As you already know, it's going to be a song of the new Halsey Album. Have you listened to it yet? Why not. didn't you see my special Tuesday post? I watched an interview with her, Trent, and Atticus this week and this song, which may or may not be my favorite track on the album (it's really hard to pick just one, this is an ever evolving thing) and she mentioned in the interview, that this was the fist song that she wrote and sent to them. Once again I'm happy to present to you Halsey with "Lilth".
It's the little things in this song, so listen to it with headphones on, or with some really good speakers. For instance the way they distort her voice when she says "I'm corrupted". It gets more distorted with each time she says it, showing that the corruption is ongoing. I love that small but impactful detail, and this album is full of those, so really what are you waiting for, go listen to this album. I'm just now beginning the deep dive into her earlier work and its good. It's more poppy, but I like that stuff sometimes. It can't all be funk, punk, industrial, or etc. etc...
I'm going to just call this a post, cause I didn't have anything to write to begin with, and I've probably gone on too long at this point anyway. Peace in and goodnight.
