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Sunday, April 23, 2023

Roll with the Punches podcast

 



I am at an odd place right now.  It’s now even that crazy, but it does confuse me- I have gotten a new computer!  


I know, that actually sounds good, not bad… but trust me: I was so used to my old computer that, even though it was slow, and sometimes frustrating- at least I always knew where things were, and how things worked in general.  

Nowadays, however, although my computer is really, really fast- my prep work on things is really slow.  I can’t find where my podcasts are, my apps are all updated and different, and so it goes, on and on.  


And I think that life, in general, is often like this.  We work really hard on something, say to change our diet.  We switch from the SAD American diet to paleo, and then we replace most carbs with protein from meat and dairy.  We become much, much healthier, and hey- what could be wrong with that?

Well, our friends might treat us differently.  They might denigrate us, saying that our diet is not healthy at all, since it is high in fat, and we don’t do enough ‘cardio’.  We become confused, since old friends treat us differently, and although everything we’ve done has been really positive for our health, things are just, somehow- different from what we are used to!

Just like my new computer: when things are better, even way better- they still are different.  Different is inherently uncomfortable!  It just is…


This is when we need to realize that different may be uncomfortable at first; but if it is better, then we need to just roll with the punches and embrace it.  Forge ahead with a big smile!


If you can’t find your old files, don’t worry about it for now.  (You can always find them later, they’re still there). What is important is to make new files- or go ahead and make more progress on your carnivor-ish kind of a diet, and savor the positive changes to your health!  Do your daily workout, and push hard when you know it’s right, and taper off if you know you are under too much stress from other things in your life.  Each day is actually new, and completely different, if we only realize it.


Here is another example: it’s Spring here in Wisconsin, and normally that is cause for undiminished rejoicing, after a particularly long and trying Winter.  BUT- we had a few days in the high 80’s (not normal, not at all), and then had a snowfall of over 1 and 1/2 FEET!  

The tree branches in our woods and yard broke under the weight, by the hundreds!  They are lying, even now, in the yard, which is now wet and semi-flooded.  The tractor can’t help much, since it would make ruts anywhere it travels, and so instead of avidly planning our garden, and cultivating our plants and yard- we are trapped in a strange different sort of Spring.  It’s really hard mentally..

But actually, it’s no big deal, not really.  It’s time to reflect, to lay back and wait.  Even though I’m dying to get going on all things Spring- I need to change my focus.  I can read, and write more.  Focus on my gymnastic rings training, trying new angles and exercise ideas.  Grill more in bulk, to stock up on meats in the fridge, and smoothies in canning jars ready to drink.  And slowly build my trap-bar deadlifts to a new peak!


The garden can wait.  Tomorrow, even though it will be a high of 40, I can use my newly sharpened chain saw and cut down some broken branches that are hanging over the roadway.  I can drag these branches, and others, down the road, even though I can’t drag them into the yard itself. I’ll just push them off the road, and wait for when I can drag them to where I can either cut them for firewood, of burn them.  

Nothing is really changed, not really.  I will get it all done, and will repair the damage as best I can.  And in the meantime, I will greatly improve my overall life, health, and fitness.  I will read some books I’ve been contemplating, and work on some music I love.  And I will cherish my family, which I recently found out that my daughter will be having another precious child!


See?  All I need to do is to change my perception.








Saturday, April 1, 2023

Free eBook: The Witch of Grandad Bluff


The Witch of Grandad Bluff


 Jess Thornton, in his self-penned adventure set in La Crosse Wisconsin, his home town, is a weird tale indeed! From his high rise office in the Hoeschler building, to Pettibone Island, and to his best friend's place on Indian Hill on the north side, Jess travels around the whole city of La Crosse, trying to save a man who he thinks may be drowned.


But, as time goes on, and as his friend Alexander Blackdeer guides him and helps him in his detecting, he realizes that the plot is far more sinister than just a disappearing middle-aged man, and that there is a supernatural element involved- and an ancient evil that has somehow come to this small river city!

Only he and that warrior Alexander could possibly hope to cope with such ancient sorcery, unleashed on God's country in La Crosse, Wisconsin!