stubbed toes and mud pies

flowerbug

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but really i should call this hermit's rest or something like that. :)

some years ago i contemplated joining a monastery - except there's a few problems with that for me. i don't much like rules, i absolutely am not a morning person and i'm not very religious.

http://www.societystjohn.com/index.php

they were recruiting though and i spent a lot of time visiting them and helping out when i could. still though, i just could not see myself being "under someone else's discipline". i first met them when they were getting started and were in the small place they had and they were getting ready to expand the place so they could have more than just the two of them. i also got to know them more as they were learning Tai Chi and we would go and practice with them on the beach.

they had some rules back then, called vows. one i liked was the vow of stability. being a homebody that fits well. so i've adopted it here for myself along with some of the other things i do like about the monastic life. i live simple. i stick to my tasks at hand. i don't go out and around much.

at first it was just the two of them there. so at least one of them had to go out from time to time to get supplies and do other things as needed. it was very rare that both of them would go out together but they made the decision that learning Tai Chi was important enough that they would come to attend the class on campus.

now i'm not sure how many there are in residence. it has changed a great deal in the many years since i first met them.

at present my job is here in helping out in the gardens and whatever else needs to be done. retrofitting, reengineering what i can, making this an easier place to be, growing food, fondling beans, protection... it is all part of the whole. i am a support person. Mom is the reason and i'll be here as long as she needs me. she took care of me as a kid, i can return the favors.

longer term, i'm never really sure what i will do next. i may end up just staying here. i may not.

at present Mom is back to her sewing/winter routine. she makes lap quilts for veterans and hospice (last year almost 400 of them) and quilts for people. on nice days we putter around outside. after the ground freezes we'll try to walk more up and down the road. i am doing more reading and writing.

sometime i may get back to working on programs or computer stuff, but that is not a major priority in my life any longer. if i ever get stuck inside someplace with nothing to read i may break out again. i need a new computer first. this one is creaking along...

to return to monastic thoughts for the moment, this past spring one of the founder's passed away up there and i wonder how everyone else is doing, yet i know they'll keep going. they have a pretty nice location there and a good business for what they do. that aspect was also appealing to me (cooking jams, breads, goodies, etc.). that was a great time for mid-winter quiet when the shop was closed for the season, but we'd try out new recipes and sit around and talk and listen to good music. once in a while they had their religious duties to attend to. i was not interested in those much so did not participate. they were really good about not pressuring me and just accepted me for who i was. but yes, they were also trying to recruit me. they wanted anyone who'd join them.

now i'm in a different place and i'm glad i can do much the same thing here. yet up there, on the shore of Lake Superior, it was quite a remote world. one so very remote now i've moved away, but many fond memories. i carry a lot of that peace with me still.

um, this isn't very organised, but i'll leave it as this for an introduction...

for more details of this place i'm hermiting about you can find them at:

http://www.anthive.com/
 

flowerbug

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recent pics of snowzzzz...

http://www.anthive.com/project/decorations/

pc140013_Bumps_Shadows_thm.jpg


pc140016_Snowy_Spiral_thm.jpg


pc140019_Sparkles_thm.jpg
 

flowerbug

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not garden related, but i'll put it here because it is about my home and what tool i use a lot of the time, especially in the winter.

after almost 20yrs i finally have brand new computer on order. :) well, actually, i'm putting it together from parts - the last part i need is sitting on the fedex truck now for delivery on Monday. that means i'll get it sometime late in the day, way out here we seem to be about last in line. i'm being impatient.

i hope it all works, some questions always remain until i get everything plugged in and the software loaded (i run Linux) and things configured how i'd like them. and then once it is up and running i'll have a few projects because the change from 32 bits to 64 bits means i can finally test and fix some programs. all good mid-winter type projects. :)

i still have papers to shred and beans to sort or organize to keep me occupied until then. it is also nice enough outside to get some walks in. we went yesterday for the first time in many months. we are both not fond of falling on icy roads so we've not been out much recently. forecast is for sunshine and 42F today, not too high of winds so we'll try to get out again. it's nice to be walking again. we used to go 3 miles almost every day.
 
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digitS'

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You have had the same computer since the dawn of the 21st century?

Any other devices?

Add ons ... is that what we call them?

Steve
 

flowerbug

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i have my old Dell XPS R400 sitting on my desk and it still boots up. last i checked. runs older version of Linux ok, but wouldn't use it for anything now. the other computer i'm currently using is an emachine Tsomething, motherboard fried on me about five years ago and replaced it with used motherboard. barely works for most things i want to do now. the power supply fan started to squeal last year so i snipped the wires to shut it up. luckily power supply has two fans and isn't being used too hard so it will survive until next week. :) audio card came out of the Dell machine and is still great after almost 20yrs. won't work in new machine, hope the audio out front speakers jack will work for my surround sound external speakers (also almost 20yrs old) which are also still working like a champ.

no special addons yet. Memory, SSD, PSU and CPU are all i have to deal with. got a good laugh out of myself the other day as i was wondering how i would turn the thing on after i get everything plugged together since i don't have the case yet. google search came to my rescue, i'm all set. at least this way i don't have to tear apart the old Dell hunting for the front panel switch and rigging up some kind of connector.

in the past i've been known to rig up a serial port from match light solder and paper clips and the wires from those breadbag paper ties so i'm not worried... :) just more like amused...

dvd player will be gotten when i decide upon a case or if i reuse one i have. i suspect i will just get a new one. we'll see... :)

almost 40F, sunny, not too much wind, Mom's up from her nap, time to walk a bit. bye...

update: walk was nice, saw neighbor friend we'd not talked to for quite a while. stood at the end of the driveway and talked to her for a half hour.

nice to be productive today too. got a box of papers gone through and shredded the immediately disposable stuff. papers from back to 2008-2010. was saving them for today... just kiddin... some were sad making (things from ex gf), still kept a few, but shredded the rest. a little less baggage now.
 
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