Stormscapes 2: time-lapse film by Nicolaus Wegner

This is so cool, if you are like me and love, I mean ABSOLUTELY love thunderstorms, check it out. It was posted on Colossal.com yesterday.

Now today, there were photos of works by this amazing muralist named Rustam Qbic in Russia, check this out.

"Blossom" by Rustam Qbic

This n' That, Wednesday Edition

Dilbert - October 22 2014

Get Fuzzy - October 21 2014

Comic strips are my daily dose of humor to keep me sane. I've been doing a lot of reading, but not ready to post about the books that I've read recently because they have been in the self help category and helping me understand events that helped shape me, but I am still formulating in my head what and how much I am going to share in regards to that.

My friends Liz and Steve who both used to work for the same company as I until earlier this year, have turned me on to some good books. I just finished reading "Boundaries; Where You End and I Begin" which I think pretty much everyone could benefit from reading. I started "Man's Search for Meaning" this past week and it has also been very thought provoking.

Two weeks ago I finally finished "Motherless Daughters" and that really dredged up some stuff.But that was a good thing, because it helped me to see some of the baggage I've been carrying around for the last almost 30 years since my mom died.

What a gorgeous day

It got up to 71° today - absolutely beautiful out this afternoon. Our mild weather has continued a lot longer than I thought it would. It looks like that may come to an end in the next few weeks,  but for now, I'm going to enjoy it!

I did a lot of laundry this weekend and had the doors open for the fresh air and warmth today. Half way through the afternoon Boo brought me a big surprise; a live snake. I was a bit shaken up until I was able to get it outside.

For a little history here;  when I first moved to Bellingham in 1987,  I lived in this house for 3 years while my brother Mark lived in Seattle. I had 2 cats at the time - Aretha and Ellwood. Twice in one summer Aretha brought a live snake into the house. The first time it didn't look alive and after I swept it out the front door it slithered away. The second time I knew better and I got that thing out of the house in less than a minute!

Boo & Munchkin have brought those teeny little green frogs into the house many times,  and I thought that's what she had today. She came into the living room and dropped something out of her mouth and started trilling like she does when she has a frog. This was no frog. ...

Is this a character trait of Tortoiseshell Calicos that nobody ever told me about?!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Civil Forfeiture

This is mind blowing. I was thinking isn't this something that the ACLU would be fighting?

RIP Elizabeth Pena

Elizabeth Pena in John Sayles' film "Lonestar"

I was very sad to see in the news online tonight that one of my favorite actresses Elizabeth Pena died yesterday at only 55. The article said she died after a brief illness. She had a great voice and presence and natural beauty, that seemed to be inside as well as out.

Atul Gawande - author of Being Mortal

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

I thought this was a pretty thoughtful discussion about how much is too much in terms of health care efforts to extend our lives in the face of potentially terminal illness.

Sunday Funnies & Other Things

Sherman's Lagoon - October 3 2014

And Cat Said, Let There Be Memes

 We are having mild weather this last week and today is around 70 degrees and sunny. I was out working on the porch stripping the old finish off the drawing board portion of the drafting table and was wearing shorts! I can't recall it ever being this nice and warm enough for me to be in shorts in October before.

My niece Jennifer and sister in law Cindy came though town yesterday with a few other family members headed to Vancouver B.C. for the weekend. It was nice to visit even thought it was a short while. I haven't seen them in almost two years I think. Jennifer just turned 15 this summer and she is now about 5' 8", and her cousin Justin who is a year younger than her is at least 5' 9". Man they have grown so much since I saw them last!

I found out through the health assessment at work that I am an inch shorter than I thought I was. I thought my dad had measured me when I was around 20 years old, and that I was 5' 10". Apparently that wasn't accurate, and I am 5' 9". It was very demoralizing! It certainly didn't positively impact my B.M.I. index that's for sure.

I did remain in the same category as far as my overall health though in terms of the blood test results, so that's good. And my doctor's office called me and said that my annual blood draw from there the week before showed me in the normal ranges for cholesterol so I was pleased with that.

I updated the blog layout a little bit again by switching out the picture to Munchkin & Boo. I think I am going to switch out the picture more often, just for a little variety.