Odds and Ends
I'll be visiting my friend Connie on her ranch in Montana the week after Labor Day. The major difference from last September is that her husband will be there all the time, since he doesn't have a job. He has early stages of dementia and while he can still drive, he doesn't want to. So it's up to Connie to take care of everything -- even more so than before, when she was often alone on their 1800-acre ranch, 25 miles from town. I'm hoping my visit can give her a bit of a break from the stresses of life.
I'm also expecting to do a lot of horseback riding, weather permitting, as that was such a wonderful experience last September. However, I never tried to lose back the weight I gained from two vacations ago, and after last year I stopped thinking about it and got rid of my scale, since it was an instrument of self-criticism. Now, I can't fasten the jeans I'd gotten just for riding last year. So, I decided to go on Nutrisystems for the two months until vacation, so I don't have to figure out groceries and such. After just five days, I've got a lot of opinions on the Nutrisystems program, but bottom line is that I'm very motivated, busy enough that I'm not suffering and feeling like "I wish I could eat more", and I know I'll reach my goal of getting my jeans to fit. Whatever I decide after that -- or not -- I'm not concerned about right now.
Yesterday I met with a new client at Starbucks. Nice man, but after more than two years of separation from his wife, he's still very much in "I'm going through a bad divorce" mode, so that pretty much dominated the conversation. It was a rather interesting story (which he wanted to make sure I knew the details of), in that he and his lady were blissfully happy for over a dozen years. And then they got married. And then the 2016 presidential election came along and his wife's family was vehemently against Trump. He himself wasn't for Trump or Hilary, but he was disturbed, considering his young daughter, at how vehemently against Trump the in-laws were, to the point of chanting derogatory jingles at the Thanksgiving table following the election. So, he's enjoying pointing out, "It's because of President Trump that I'm divorced." Wow, that's sure giving Trump a lot of power over one's life, isn't it? lol.
Got to write more on my next "Adventure" story over the weekend. It's up to 30k and probably halfway over. I'm not sure how meaty I'm going to make it, in terms of inserting things that are going to be issues in future stories.
I think I read somewhere that the Denver area has already gotten enough moisture this year that it can't be called a drought year. That's rare. It has been lovely, especially with the lawns looking so nice and green.
My fake horse Avatar was 11th of 19 in the Louisville Derby. Bleh.