Perpetual Ruminations (Book) https://www.Writing.Com/main/profile.php/blog/callmetj Wow, it's been a very long time since I've visited the site and it's going to take a while to catch up. But that will have to wait for another day, I'm tethered to my phone to get internet, and it's limited. Things are going well, although the immunotherapy is causing some undesirable side effects. I was started on the infusions last October, but the medication/drug didn't receive FDA approval until January, so the side effects are st...[Read Full Post] Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:28:10 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117266 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117266 It's a new day, sunny and already 35ÂF out, a lot nicer than the last few days. According to the liars meteorologists at NOAA, we may hit 70Â F by Sunday, but then, they also said it was supposed to be near forty yesterday, with a slight chance of rain. Instead, it didn't reach thawing, and we received an inch of new snow. I'm enjoying my second cup of coffee while I wait for my beloved to wake....[Read Full Post] Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:16:47 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1112946 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1112946 I was just going to write that it's been a few days, but I see it's actually been five. That means I lost a couple of days somewhere; I bet it's payment due for Daylight Savings Time. I'm still doing pretty well, but suffering some pain. Nothing serious, just using muscles that haven't been used for a long time as I work on the camper. I thought the floor would get us by, but when I installed the new power converter, I found the floor was...[Read Full Post] Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:32:08 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1112881 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1112881 I know, it's been a while. I'm doing pretty well, but have been pretty busy. Our snow was almost all gone, the trees budding, the grass turning green, etc. The guy we bought our camper from delivered it on March 29th. My wife went through and cleaned it really well; it had been stored for over a year. I've been going through everything to find out what needs repairing so we can start using it. One thing we didn't anticipate was tha...[Read Full Post] Sat, 04 Apr 2026 17:26:44 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1112386 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1112386 Living in northern Minnesota, it seems unlikely to have an international harbor, but we do. In fact, I believe the Duluth harbor on Lake Superior is the farthest inland harbor in the world. Our climate, however, means the harbor closes during the winter and opens again in spring with the help of the United States Coast Guard, breaking harbor ice and freeing wintered ships. [Embed vWMaBVdFNMw] [Embed mXc1_bAsJlE] ...[Read Full Post] Tue, 24 Mar 2026 18:51:44 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111447 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111447 Next Friday, I have a CT scan to look for any recurrence of cancer. It's been almost one year since the endoscopy that revealed the cancer, and once again, I find myself anxiously waiting. At the same time, my anxiety is climbing and will until the scan is done and the results are in. I'm anxious to hear that there is no evidence of cancer, but knowing there could also be an opposite revelation causes my anxieties to grow. It's interesting how th...[Read Full Post] Sat, 21 Mar 2026 20:13:05 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111200 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111200 It's been four days since I last visited Perpetual Ruminations, and four days since I've done much of anything in WdC. Why? Time, my fellow writers, time. It takes time to read, respond, write, and engage here, just as it takes time to do things in that alternate universe we call life. As you probably know, from my last entry, I got floored. Actually, the dining room got refloored. The person who rented the front apartment before we opened it ...[Read Full Post] Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:59:34 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111133 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111133 It's been busy, and it's cutting into my WdC time, but that's how life is. It's likely going to be like this a lot with warmer weather on the way, but we do what we can, right? So what's been keeping me busy? The carpet in the dining room. It's old, cheap, stained, and about worn out. It also has a smell to it that's not very pleasant. We've talked about tearing it out and putting down laminate, and on Friday, we decided to do...[Read Full Post] Mon, 16 Mar 2026 23:39:18 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110837 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110837 "I just had an epiphany!" You excitedly ask, "What is it?" I answer smart-assedly, "It's a moment of sudden revelation." With a scornful look, you state, "That was a little bit funny in a previous entry, but don't you think it's time for some new material?" "You, Dear Reader, are right. I should be ashamed of myself; I'm not, but I should be." Anyway, enough of the dialogue. It's time t...[Read Full Post] Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:38:44 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110442 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110442 I didn't get much done in here yesterday; it was just one of those days. The best part about yesterday is that it's over. Today is going well, considering it's winter again. The temperature climbed just above the thawing point, enough to make the three or four inches of snow we got really wet, really heavy, and really difficult to shovel. I did get the front and back cleared, and I shoveled out in front of the garage doors. My wife's back to ...[Read Full Post] Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:50:31 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110341 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110341 We've changed the clocks again. It's a real pain in the ass for most people, and it doesn't do anything positive, yet every spring we move it ahead an hour and every fall we move it back. Living as far north as I do, I'd prefer to leave them on regular time, but I understand a lot of people prefer to leave them on Daylight Saving Time. I've said for years that we should jump ahead thirty minutes and then just leave them alone. That's...[Read Full Post] Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:11:19 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110161 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1110161 Time differences, that's it. I was just late getting in here today and thought I would get my stuff done before midnight, no problems. Only my midnight is an hour after WdC midnight, so once again, I kind of spaced it. Oh well, that's the way it goes. Today was kind of like that; it started right away this morning. I woke up too damned early and couldn't get back to sleep because I remembered I had an infusion sometime this morning. Did I set the...[Read Full Post] Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:47:53 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109924 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109924 It's still above freezing here, and today we saw early spring weather, temperatures in the fifties, lots of sun, and just a light breeze; a very beautiful day. Most of the snow is gone except in areas where the sun doesn't reach it, and even that is diminishing rapidly. We had to make an early run to Fergus Falls again today. My wife needed to have her hearing aids cleaned and serviced. We arrived a half hour early in hopes of her getting in right aw...[Read Full Post] Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:34:06 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109811 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109811 We have Sunday, Monday, and now, Murphday. Murphday isn't a regular day that repeats regularly, but we all have Murphdays randomly; today was my Murphday. What is a Murphday? It's any day when things just refuse to go as planned, or right. It's a day when Murphy's Law rules. Today was my Murphday. Right from the start, not even one cup of coffee down, and things began to go amok. Despite numerous attempts to set the day right, it continue...[Read Full Post] Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:14:14 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109746 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109746 Today I traveled to Fergus Falls to see my cardiologist for a three-month follow-up. Everything went well, and she said I'm doing well, but she was concerned about an incident when I was in for my last endoscopy. That was a messed-up day to say the least. I was scheduled for ten-thirty and told to show up a half hour early. That meant I had to be up pretty early so I could get to Fargo, about a two-hour drive from home to the hospital. No coffee, no noth...[Read Full Post] Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:08:37 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109655 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109655 We are, according to the liars meteorologists, done with the severe cold. Is it severe? Sometimes, but other times, they describe it as bitter cold. We are not done with the cold by any means, but the forecast shows above freezing temperatures during the days, some even into the fifties, and down into the teens and twenties at night. Hopefully, they are right, but that doesn't happen very often. If it rem...[Read Full Post] Sun, 01 Mar 2026 17:47:35 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109582 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109582 Yesterday we took the dogs to the State Park to enjoy some time outside, exercise, and fresh air. It was a beautiful day, but by noon, it began to fade into a change. We had hoped to do some snowshoeing, but we could not find any trails that still had enough snow on them. We had anticipated this, but brought the snowshoes and hoped there might still be enough snow in the wooded areas. There was some, but there was more mud than snow, and we didn't care to t...[Read Full Post] Sat, 28 Feb 2026 18:04:47 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109489 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109489 So this entry is being written today, but it's not today, it's tomorrow. I know that doesn't make sense, but yet it does. See, it's 11:40 my time,, but it's 12:40 WdC time. Thankfully, I commented on a few blogs earlier, and that completed my five for today. But I still wanted to write my entry, only I wrote it just after midnight this morning, my time or yesterday WdC time. Are you getting confused yet? I know I am. But, instead of posti...[Read Full Post] Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:57:27 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109346 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109346 Yesterday was lazy, but today not so much. It's barely into the twenties here, but the sun is shining and that seems to be enough to motivate just as yesterdays gloomy, drieriness seemed to suck the energy right out of me. Today, after fixing our lunch and enjoying our noontime meal before my wife headed off to work, a package arrived that contained a five foot by seven foot exercise mat. But, it's not for exercise, although I suppose it could be used f...[Read Full Post] Wed, 25 Feb 2026 18:27:04 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109254 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109254 Today is warmer, in the twenties, but kind of dreary. We were supposed to get a few more inches of snow last night and today, and it was also supposed to be windy. Instead, we have low clouds making the day gloomy, and a bit of a breeze, but not what I'd call windy by a long shot. I suppose it's Murphy's Law being applied; we purchased snowshoes so we could enjoy the snow, so now we're not getting any. That's alright. If the snow goes, we ca...[Read Full Post] Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:55:10 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109183 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1109183