An eventful week

We've had one of those weeks where things have happened, both big and small.

With Older Daughter now living in her new apartment, I decided it was time to deep-clean the refrigerator. She's the gourmet cook in the family, so when she left, she took all her sauces and specialty spices with her. As a result, the fridge is now comically empty.

In cleaning out the refrigerator's freezer, I came across a bunch of random cuts of beef taking up space. I ended up throwing them all in the slow cooker and turning it into "zesty orange beef." With just the two of us, we've been eating off this for days now.

By the way, Older Daughter stinkin' loves her new apartment. After a few days, Frumpkin (her cat) also settled in and has adopted one particular chair as his very own.

Older Daughter is so pleased with this apartment, in fact, that she hopes to stay there for the next four years, the duration of her schooling to become a nurse.

Last Saturday, our church had its annual deep-clean work party. Don's job was to build a child-proof gate and barrier across a dangerous four-foot drop to a tiny basement area where the church's heater is located. This drop-off is right off the fellowship hall, which is in constant use. Our church building is about 125 years old, so it has its quirks. Our pastor's son is now a bit over two years old, plus we have some other young kids, so this was an overdue safety concern.

(By the way, you might remember our pastor's love story – see here and here and here and here – and I'm pleased to announce they're expecting their second child in late October, another boy! Mr. and Mrs. Pastor have proven themselves to be excellent parents, and their first child has become something of a church mascot, much beloved by everyone.)

We spent the week arranging for a new (used) vehicle for Older Daughter. Her other car has a major transmission issue, which makes fixing it more expensive than it's worth, so she'll sell it either for parts or to someone who wants to repair and flip-sell it. Meanwhile, we asked our mechanic if he had any knowledge of an inexpensive-but-reliable vehicle available, and by golly he did. Having a mechanic you can trust is such a blessing! 

I've also been spending a lot of time in the garden, weeding out beds, layering them with compost, and planting seeds. We've had some crazy temperature swings (hey, spring) so I'm refraining from planting some of the more sensitive veggies until things stabilize.

We had a neighbor come up with his small track hoe to dig a trench behind the barn so we could lay in a drain to divert water from the barn door. Don lined the trench with weed cloth and laid down a perforated pipe, then covered it with gravel. This was a task we'd hoped to accomplish last fall, but the weather caught up with us before we had a chance to accomplish this step.

Older Daughter came in late last week to pick up her new (used) car and return ours, which she had been borrowing. We had a busy day helping her pack more of her things and fit them into her car, which has the advantage of having more room than her previous car.

This left one of her previous rooms empty. It needs some patching and trim, but above all it needs a paint job. (As a brief history, we had to move Older Daughter in rather hastily four years ago when her apartment lease ran out about the same time Don had some minor surgery, so cosmetic changes weren't high on our list.) The family from whom we purchased our house were absolutely lovely people, but their choice in paint colors was ... unique. I kid you not, the color is that bright.

Don started the prep work necessary to paint, which we hope to do this upcoming week. We'd like to get it finished in time to convert it into a guest bedroom, since Younger Daughter will be visiting in late June before moving west to start her new civilian job.

Meanwhile, through all of this, I finished up several magazine articles and sent them off, and began blasting through my next Love Inspired proposal which I hope to submit within a week or so.

And to top it off, we're having a new roof installed! This is something for which we've been saving for at least two years. We would have had it done last year, but we couldn't manage it financially after I was laid off from my online job in February 2025. It took us an extra year to save up for it.

Our current roof is asphalt shingles, and it was getting quite ragged. We were delighted to learn installing a metal roof was actually more economical than installing a new shingle roof. (We became huge fans of metal roofs after experiencing the benefits in our last home.) We chose a nice solid brown as a roof color.

The contractor is a young and highly respected Mennonite roofer whose work has high ratings. At the moment one-third of the roof is newly covered, but then work had to pause for some rainstorms. The rest of the roof should be completed next week.

We chose the roof color to complement the house color we chose for an upcoming paint job. Our current house color is a rather drab "greige."

This summer, Don and I will paint it a nice green. (The color chips shown below have a distinctly blue tinge to them, but I assure you they're green.)

We're also sorting through a lot of shelves, cupboards, and closets for items to sell at a yard sale we plan to hold this summer.

So yeah, that's been our week. Lots of stuff going on!

Greener grass

Last year, you might remember, we subdivided our larger pasture.

This allowed us to add additional rotations for cattle grazing. It also allowed us to have the garden fences down while we worked on strengthening and raising the fences against deer (the garden is carved out of a slice of the pasture), since the cows were restricted to the upper portion while we worked.

As a result of last year's garden-fencing efforts, we didn't release the cows into the larger pasture until late June. While the grazing was certainly great, it was past its peak.

This year we had no such restrictions. As a result, we opened the gate to the larger pasture last week, and let the cows into their little slice of bovine paradise.

We started by opening the gate (translation: peeling back some of the field fencing right at the corner of the garden) and giving our "Bossy bossy bossy!" call. Maggie was the first to investigate.

Romeo and Stormy soon followed. "Hey, look at all this grass!"

Maggie looks at the garden. "Hey, can I get in there?" No, you can't.

This time of year, the pasture is at its peak lushness.

Don has a theory about pasture quality. When cows are grouped together when grazing, it means the pasture is lush. When they're scattered apart, the quality is less. Right now, the cows are always grouped together.

A couple hours later, the cows were bedded down, chewing their cud, looking about as happy as cows can look.

Speaking of Maggie, our Jersey cow, she's looking more and more ponderous.

She was bred on September 8, so according to an online bovine gestational calculator, that means her due date is June 12, a month from now.

Unlike last year's unexpectedly early birth of Stormy, however, this time we're ready. We have the milking stall and calf pen built and all the quirks worked out. As her due date grows closer, we'll take the animals off the larger pasture and restrict them to the small pasture right below the house, so we can keep an eye on Maggie. Fresh milk soon!

"How is your father?"

I called my dad yesterday (Mother's Day). I can't talk to my mom anymore since she's in a nursing home, and so I called my dad instead.

As it turns out, he wasn't home when I called. That's because he was with two of my brothers and sisters-in-law, all of whom were visiting my mom, so that was nice to know. Dad called me back this morning and we caught up.

He told me that Mom hadn't seen one of my sisters-in-law ("V") in quite some time. The moment V. walked in, Mom said – clear enough that even Dad could hear it (Dad is quite deaf) – "Hello. How is your father?"

Dad was ecstatic.

V. is from Russia, and her father had suffered a stroke a few years ago. V. had to travel all the way to Moscow and then on to Siberia to care for him in the immediate aftermath. Mom's mind was sharp enough to remember V's struggles, and to ask V. how her father was doing.

Dad confirms that Mom's brain, underneath the symptoms of her own stroke and serious bout of pneumonia over the New Year, is still chugging along bright and alert. We agreed it must be intensely frustrating that she can't always communicate her thoughts.

Still, Dad admitted that Mom is receiving not just excellent care in her nursing home, but far more socialization than she would have gotten at home, so he's come to terms with it. I'm grateful he only lives a couple miles away from her facility.

The dying art of writing

Back when I was seven years old, I wrote a story about Glinda the Fish. I don't remember anything about it beyond a few vague watery adventures Glinda had. Certainly the story rambled, had no story arc, and lacked a conclusion, though I did include crayon illustrations of a very pretty and feminine fish decked out in glittery scales. Hey, I was seven.

Obviously the writing bug bit early, and I've enjoyed practicing the written word ever since.

Perhaps for this reason, the artificial-ness of writing done by artificial intelligence drives me nuts. I'm complained about this several times (here and here).

Oddly I'm conscious of times I use turns of phrase that might be misconstrued as written by AI. I submitted a magazine article recently, for example, concerning the honey hunters of Bangladesh (people who harvest wild honey in the coastal areas of that nation). In the second paragraph, I set the scene by describing what the mangrove forests are like, which included this line: "It is a moist, humid, and unforgiving ecosystem that straddles land and sea, and protects the coast from erosion during high tides, tsunamis, and cyclones."

It was the term "straddles land and sea" that I almost took out because it sounded like AI, even though it describes perfectly the placement of mangrove forests.

Similarly, one line from our recent trip to Italy also triggered my AI radar. In this blog post, I described some Roman ruins we saw, including the impressive brick work, as follows: "The fact that the brick work has held up so splendidly for thousands of years is a testimony to the skills of Roman craftsmen." It was that word "testimony" that tipped the line over into the realm of sounding artificial. It's bugged me ever since.

Every writer develops his own unique voice when mastering the craft, and I guess you could say the same applies to artificial intelligence. In a piece entitled "The Rise Of AI Writing And The Decline Of Human Voice," it states:

"New research suggests that widespread use of large language models is making language more uniform. A study conducted by University of Southern California found that after the release of ChatGPT, diversity in writing styles declined across several forms of communication, including scientific publications, local journalism, and social media posts. Researchers observed fewer differences in vocabulary choices and sentence patterns, pointing to a growing preference for polished, formulaic language. ...

"Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development analyzed more than 740,000 hours of spoken and written material and found that certain words commonly associated with ChatGPT responses are appearing more frequently in everyday communication. Words like 'delve,' 'meticulous,' 'boast,' and 'comprehend' have become increasingly common, suggesting AI-generated language may be shaping human speech habits as well. ...

"Not everyone sees that as progress. Alex Mahadevan of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies argues that AI-generated content often feels empty despite being technically sound. He described it as noticeably 'soulless' and 'mediocre,' adding, 'There's no art in it.'"

Or, as I'm fond of stating, AI writing is a lot of "blah blah nothing."

At this moment in time, we are straddling (that word!) the cusp of human-generated writing and AI writing. But the handwriting is on the wall, and the latter will become the norm. Not only is it easier (give a command, and hey presto! your essay or advertising copy is written), but the younger generation will grow up unable to discern between the real and the fake ... especially since AI shows every indication of becoming indistinguishable from the human voice. Personally I find that very sad.

I don't know how long I'll be able to cling to a career as a writer, but I'll enjoy it while I can.

Happy birthday, Sir David Attenborough

The incomparable Sir David Attenborough turns 100 years old today!

Tributes are pouring in from all over the world, the world he saw so much of.

• Sir David Attenborough: A century of storytelling - BBC

• David Attenborough at 100: A Special Birthday Message From King Charles (this had a cute and unexpected twist)

• Inside the wild life of broadcasting legend Sir David Attenborough | 60 Minutes Australia

• Sir David Attenborough at 100: A Century of Wonder | 9 News Australia Documentary

...and on and on and on.

From all accounts, the man is a true gentleman on and off the screen.

Happy birthday, Sir David! 

The Three Stooges

Larry, Curly, and Moe.

Happy birthday, Younger Daughter!

Today is Younger Daughter's birthday.

She'll be coming stateside (after her decision to leave the Navy) in June. She'll first go to Southern California to visit her grandparents, then come up to see us before heading to the West Coast to start her new job.

Happy birthday, dear daughter!

"Keeping up with the influencers"

You know how once in a while, you stumble upon a video that rivets you in horrified fascination, and subsequently it takes you down a rabbit hole of binge-watching similar videos? This just happened to me.

To back up somewhat: Most readers know something about our fiscal history. (If not, a synopsis can be read here.) In our younger years, we got ourselves deeper in debt than we were comfortable with, though never to the point of not being able to pay our bills. We always paid our bills, but there were times we were very, very tight financially. This is one of the reasons we're huge fans of thrift stores and a cash-only lifestyle. The debt we had was all for "legitimate" cost-of-living expenses as we raised our girls, but it was still debt.

The result of many years of financial uncertainty has left me with something akin to a pathological fear of debt. The peace of mind that comes with not owing any money is hard to describe.

So when I came across a random video entitled "Let's Watch 25 Minutes of People Living Above Their Means & Going BROKE" by someone called Zac Rios, I clicked.

Oh my.

All this guy does, as far as I know, is trawl around social media, gathering up videos of people confessing (or bragging) about how much money they've spent that landed them in astronomical debt, how hard they try to justify it, and apparently why they refuse to change their ways.

Mr. Rios admits one of his reasons for posting these videos is to get viewers "scared straight" about their own spending habits. He says if he were to don a suit and tie and stand in front of a white board giving an economics lesson, most people would tune out. But this – these naked, raw, real testimonies of people who are ruining their lives through financial illiteracy – is eye-opening. Watching clip after clip after clip after clip is like watching a train wreck. I couldn't look away.

Make no mistakes: The people putting these videos on the internet are not lamenting their poverty or the hardships they're experiencing due to medical expenses, job loss, disability, or other unavoidable factors beyond their control. Instead, the clips profile people who simply spent too much on every passing "want" and either don't know or don't care that they'll never get out from under the resulting crushing debt.

Among the factors involved in these irrational decisions:

• YOLO (You Only Live Once) or "doom" spending

• Social media fueled by influencers

• The "image is everything" mindset

• Instant gratification

Influencers seem to be a major factor in this overspending trend. Having watched a number of these videos, it's clear the host focuses on living beyond one's means as a lifestyle choice, rather than genuine economic hardship. Mr. Rios explains how some of these people make staggering amounts of money, and then spend to keep up appearances. But for most, the length of time an influencer actually influences is very brief. They think it will last forever and it doesn't. As a result, many current and former influencers are economically in way over their financial heads, let alone those who watch them.

Viewer comments could be blunt:

 • "Truly a case of 'Buying stuff you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like.'"

• "What a world. Having $1.26 in your bank account and no debt makes you richer than 75% of the country."

• "Lots of people claim they're just living in the moment and don't understand the piper must be paid at some point."

• "The weirdest part of it is how they believe massive debt is a flex."

The incomparable Amy Dacyczyn, author of "Tightwad Gazette," once said that if you write down every single penny you spend, you can skip buying her book because you'll already know what you're spending your money on. This simple piece of advice seems to elude those mired down in YOLO-fueled spending.

Look, today's uncertain economy – with elevated prices for everything from food to property – is tough enough as it is. It's getting more difficult for ordinary Americans to scrape by on incomes that used to be adequate.The younger generation is facing an uphill battle when it comes to achieving the milestones their parents and grandparents were able to achieve. No one denies this.

But ... this level of self-inflicted financial sabotage is hard to grasp. Kudos to Mr. Rios for  attempting to "scare straight" those who need it.

Moving out

Goodness, what a busy few days this has been! Older Daughter has officially moved out. She started her new job today. Nursing school doesn't start until late August, so she has several months of full-time work before classwork begins.

She called us last Friday night, having picked up the keys and seen her studio apartment for the first time. She was thrilled with it. "It's much bigger than I thought it would be," she said. "The window is huge, and it has a very wide windowsill for sitting. The kitchen is large for a studio apartment."

She drove home Friday evening. All weekend, she was engaged in packing, sorting, and discarding. On Sunday, we loaded up our car and hers with some basic furniture, clothes, kitchen things, and other assorted necessities, and went to see her apartment.

She's right: It's a charming studio overlooking a charming street scene. The only disadvantage is the thirty – thirty! – steps to ascend to the second floor.

This apartment is not handicap accessible, so it has no elevator or other means of transporting worldly goods upstairs except sheer grunt-work. (The building is well over a hundred years old, so no surprise.)

But that's okay. Most of the heavy lifting is already done, and we'll all be gradually moving whatever didn't fit into the first load into subsequent trips. Her cat Frumpkin is with us for a few days until she gets things more established.

Things are a lot quieter here at home, but a lot more exciting for Older Daughter.

Yellow-flower season

Now that "cotton-candy season" (consisting of wild plum blossoms) has come and gone, we're now in the midst of "yellow-flower season." We have yellow flowers blooming everywhere.

The most noticeable are arrow-leaf balsamroot, a large and showy flower that favors sunny south-facing slopes with shallow soil.

This time of year, they light up hillsides all over the place.

If you peer closely, you can see the balsamroot blanketing this hillside.

A field of mustard, planted as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop.

This is Oregon grape. As the name implies, the plants produce tart (almost to the point of being inedible) grape-like clusters of fruit in the fall.

This is nine-leaf biscuitroot. They can be found scattered all over roadsides and sunny slopes.

These, too, can blanket hillsides.

The beloved daffodils. Often these escape from gardens, so to speak, and grow wild.

Dogtooth violets, also called glacier lilies. These are all over shady sections of our pasture, and are among the first flowers to bloom in the spring.

I'm not quite certain what this is. I photographed it hastily from the window of the car, so I wasn't able to examine it closely. It might be false lupine. If anyone knows, please chime in.

Another unknown flower, also photographed from the car window.

This time of year, tulips are on display in many yards.

And, of course, who can ignore the ubiquitous dandelion.

 

Next up in the blooming cycle are apple blossoms. Stand by!