I studied Spanish.

Did my brain training.

Went to Stone Mountain. Called my buddy Anthony.

Then made a series of short videos to friends of mine all over the world. Kind of an outreach day so to speak.

This looks promising for Ashley and Miles’ family.

Turned out to be a nice day.

OYB

The TV cable is having issues. I need to get Comcast over here to check it out. The problem is most of the time it’s ok. That’s bad when they come over and can’t find a problem.

Studied Spanish.

Brain training.

One Year Bible.

Cold and rainy.

Talked with Anthony.

Chatted with Mom.

Recorded an episode of Verbal Surgery. Downloaded it to my Mac’s hard drive.

Tried to watch the recording of a Zoom call but the link didn’t work.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery -827- “Explosion and Erosion.” So tasty.

Milder temperatures.

Wreck on the way to pick up the girls.

OYB

On my way to Niger, W. Africa fourteen years ago today.

Love my girls!

Spent some time near the bird feeders today.

Teaching them the basic feeder birds we see: Carolina wren, Tufted Titmouse, S. Carolina Chicadee, House Sparrow, Red Bellied Woodpecker, and Downy Woodpecker. There are another five species or more that I see regularly including Crows, Sharp Shinned Hawks, Cardinals, Blue Jay, Towhee, Brown Thrasher, and Mourning Doves. Seasonally, I also see Red Throated Hummingbirds and Goldfinch.

We went up to our “Camp Site” on Stone Mountain today. It was beautiful.

We had fun with stacking rocks.

I’m always impressed by the beauty of nature there. Many interesting water patterns.

I love shooting with reflected light. The overcast sky is perfect for it.

We made it to our camp site.

I like lichen. Moss is a must.

The sky cleared off for about an hour or so.

I like for them to develop a sense of balance. We often walk on logs.

The clouds were so beautiful. I was struck by the similarity of the streaking in the clouds and on the rocks.

Everly fell asleep in the back seat.

Penelope and I watched Aladdin together. Jesse got Everly out of the car and brought her down to us for the last twenty minutes or so. Then I took them to the other grandparents.

Paid bills.

Sleep!

I read this word in an article.

I didn’t have the girls today. I always miss them.

Long talk with our health insurance company. Made sure everything is in order and ordered our new ID cards.

Studied Spanish.

Brain training.

Super cold weather.

OYB!

I tried to help Kathy’s sister cancel an appointment to get her house cleaned, but the number we had was out of service.

I went to Stone Mountain to make a call and study. While I was there, one of the cable cars got stuck. It was almost to the top. Just in case your wondering, the car is not in this shot.

The weather apps I have said it was sunny. It was completely overcast. Bizarre.

Went to the Bank of America to ask some questions about setting up a Health Savings Account.

I talked to my insurance agent who knew more about what BOA offered than the customer service people did. Surprised by that.

When we first moved to Stone Mountain, this mini-golf place always reminded me of home.

Over to the Kroger Pharmacy for Jesse’s meds.

Went to my sister-in-law’s house to work on her garage door opener. I opened one unit completely up and tried to reprogram two of the garage door clickers. Neither would program properly. I put in a new 9V battery and put the pieces back together.

I was able to get one garage door opener to work! I cleaned out the garage on one side so she could park in her new spot.

Transported squirrel #153.

I found the insurance card for the Mercury and put it in J’s car which we leave at Ann’s house.

Had about .5″ of rain over the last couple of days.

Picked up the groceries. They were running about an hour late from my original appointment. That’s the only time that’s happened.

Gassed up my car. Checked the oil and cleaned the windshield.

Sometimes it’s hard to pump gas into my car. It acts like it’s stopped up. What a hassle.

Super cold morning.

Feels like 19 degrees!

Got to Global Mall super fast.

OYB!

Studied Spanish!

Deposited checks.

My favorite kind.

Sweet girls!

I get food out about once a week.

We got almost all of the homework done yesterday. I helped one girl finish a couple of assignments then put everything back up.

I watched Penelope and some of the kids in the neighborhood play for about 1.5 hours. Miles came home at the perfect time because Everly wanted a bath but the weather was really nice outside in the sun. So both kids got to do what they wanted to do. Amen.

English Ivy kills trees.

It was wild watching these two guys go up the staircase. No, thanks.

Ordered groceries.

I thought this sticker was interesting.

Went by my office to check the mail and water my ficus.

The grandgirls spent Monday night with me. So today’s blog combines Monday/Tuesday.

Monday

Studied Spanish.

Duolingo continues to add huge chunks of new material, some of which I can’t even access yet.

I thought this was interesting.

Brain training.

OYB. Love it.

Mileage.

The trip is so much better since the pandemic.

Got ink for me and for Ashley. She printed off all the tax letters so we could get them in the mail with this month’s newsletter.

Got the mail from my office.

I enjoyed eating here with the girls. Of course, to go.

Really brisk outside. I had my heaviest gear on, but the wind just cut right though it.

While I worked on stuffing the newsletters into the envelopes, the girls enjoyed exploring and discovering things in my office.

Dropped the letters off. I was proud that we made the February 1st deadline for getting our tax letters out. Actually, I read that this year’s due date wasn’t until 2.12 this year. So we were early.

I added this to my room.

When the weather is really cold, I’m always extra vigilant about making sure that there is plenty of food for the birds.

My bird feeder wire had come loose on one end. I nailed it back up so it’s level.

The girls finally went to sleep about 9:30 pm. I crashed about an hour after that. I woke up a lot during the night, but my sleep tracker app said I got around eight hours.

Tuesday

Another really cold day. We stayed inside.

I read this word in an article.

I thought Seth Godin’s blog was particularly good this morning.

OYB

Love my girls!

She worked really hard on her writing today.

Everly enjoyed drawing with crayons.

Studied Spanish.

Vacuumed the house.

Blew the driveway and deck.

Cold, but clear. Always better when it’s sunny.

Hard to believe it, but I had a couple of kids that I helped with homework. It was about 36 degrees. I’m always like, “If you can handle it, I can.”

Came home to catch up on the blog and to release a new episode of Verbal Surgery.

Studied Spanish!

Cold and wet.

Brain training.

One Year Bible from Matthew and Exodus.

Went to Stone Mountain to record Verbal Surgery “Fast Resort.” Downloaded it from my Sony PCM-M10 to my Mac.

Called my Mom.

Tomorrow, Ashley and I will get the newsletter printed, folded up and mailed. We also need to print the tax letters. I alphabetized the envelopes so we could put the letters with the donors more easily.

Enjoyed watching the Magicians on Netflix and playing Zero Dawn.

Watered my plants. Refilled feeders.

I enjoy reading neurological articles. This one is about the anterior insular cortex and how this area could be the center of our “mind” in our body.

Studied Spanish.

Brain Training.

I downloaded the “Clock and Watch” edition of Verbal Surgery to my Mac.

One Year Bible. Love this.

Cold day. Most of the day was completely overcast.

Fun talk with my buddy Anthony. We chatted while he walked his dog in subfreezing temperatures.

Been watching Fate on Netflix.

Enjoyed playing Zero Dawn.

Cold yet turned gorgeous.

Always great to be with my girls!

We drive right by this ATM. Decided to start using it.

Penelope did some terrific drawings today.

I was given these little light up animals. They never seem to light up. This is the brightest part of the yard and can actually help me not go off the curb.

Studied Spanish.

I got some envelopes in. They came with bubble wrap. Sounded like firecrackers when they jumped on them.

To the Doggie Park next.

Cool clouds.

Saw a Sharp Shinned Hawk on the ground near my house.

I liked the shadow from one of the climbing things at the park.

Beautiful, golden colors.

Released Verbal Surgery -825- “Imitation Jewelry.”

I thought these were interesting.

Kid kept trying to scroll the screen.

The poem Gorman gave at the inauguration.

I had to review the meaning of this word.

My sister-in-law gave me some old iPhones. I got one of the 6s models to work. Others won’t take a charge.

I cleaned all my bed linens last night.

Cold day today, even colder tomorrow!

Studied Spanish.

Beautiful sunrise clouds.

Girl time is always A+!

One Year Bible.

The girls and I have so much fun together.

I’m still trying to set up the HSA properly. Can’t get an appointment.

Took the girls home to Azalea.

Checked on the kids at the mission. They had all completed their homework and done well. Sometimes, I really feel like I’m making a difference.

To my office to check the mail and water my ficus. Started processing the checks.

Fed the birds and raccoons.