Evening isn’t the best time to have coffee, and Natalie will close her coffee share if I don’t hurry up and start this post.
This week Vince and I have done battle with Omicron. I’m double vaxed and he’s anti-vaxed, but we’ve had sort of a competition about who is worse. I tested negative then came down with the symptoms, so his thought is that I don’t have it. Frankly, I don’t want it. I’ve been careful – masked, vaxed, super clean, socially distanced. None of it made any difference.
I’m going to give him the prize for feeling worse – more tired and nausea that we thought wasn’t going to end the first night. Both of us are past the contagious stage at this point, but tell that to our noses and the violent sneezing. Nobody would want us around masked or not. Even so, we are not overly ill and have been out to do short runs wearing our masks (even Vince, who stayed in the car).
What’s On MY Bookshelf?
If you haven’t joined in this fun challenge, and you like to read and don’t want to write reviews, you can post titles or write reams – your choice!
I spent my sick time time reading a couple of books I got from the library, People V Alex Cross James Patterson’s 25th book, The Tutor by Peter Abraham, and still trying to get over to Amazon to give Doug Jacquier five stars on his new book, Raving and Wryting Bite-Sized Low Wit for Our Desperate Times. Doug’s is by far the funniest. The other two are about murders and scammers v detectives and little girls who figure things out in the end. Don’t get me wrong, they kept me on the edge of my seat – real page turners.
Doug’s book, on the other hand, is a collection of short stories, most of which I get, and some of which might be too Australian for me. When I’m still rubbing my head at the end, it usually means I need to read it again more carefully. I adore Doug’s writing and I’m in awe of anyone who can write humor, especially politically and make me laugh because it’s hard to write.
My Amazon Review -“Do You Need a Good Laugh?”
“Doug is one of the funniest humans on the planet. I’ve been reading his blog for a couple of years, and he’s a regular contributor to Story Chat, which I host on my blog. His collection of stories will make you laugh, nod your head or even scratch your head. He thinks outside the box. And he has that dry Australian humor that keeps up with events going on all over the world. Most of the events are not funny, but the way Doug spins them, you’ll laugh, no matter what your political perspective. You won’t want to miss this book.
![Raving and Wryting: Bite-sized low wit for our desperate times by [Doug Jacquier]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41CU6a6slkL.jpg)
Mystery Solved – Memorable Event Photos Located
I also solved an eight-year-old mystery this week? What happened to the photos I took with my brother on our trip to Chicago for his 60th birthday. I’ve been diligently and intentionally searching through all my drives this week. That only left one drive, which was usable only in my old Mackbook Pro, which died several years ago. I dropped it off at the Geek Squad after my negative COVID test and before I had symptoms. They cleaned everything off the drive, saved the photos to a new external hard drive, and voila, there were all my old photos. Yay! As an additional bonus, I also had Vince’s and my Accidental Vacation we took when we picked up a used trailer in Oregon and the transmission on the truck quit leaving us stranded in the Redwoods of Southern Oregon. Another Yay.
Here is where the story gets wild for Terri’s Sunday Stills and Anne-Christine’s Memorable Events.
Accidental Vacation in the Oregon Redwoods
The year was 2013, and Vince and I headed up the road to pick up our “new” used trailer on the Oregon Coast. If you want to hear about some of our adventures, you can search for Accidental Vacation for the ten posts.
Driving down the highway, we could see there was a problem up ahead. People pulled over getting out of their cars. We couldn’t go, so I got out, too, against Vince’s loud protests.
I figured if I stayed behind the man in blue, the elk would attack him, and I’d get away. I used my EOS Rebel xTI with a good telephoto lens. Fortunately for all of us peepers, the elk were more interested in grass than in any of the humans watching them. They were trying to cross the street to reach the perpetually-watered hotel grass. The old saying is true, “The grass IS greener on the other side.”
We hit the jackpot down the road – the Elk’s Public Spa teaming with elk, young and old alike. One brave ole soul braved the deep and waded away from the madding crowd, keep his eye out for competition. No one seemed interested in following him.
Chicago Wildlife
The year was still 2013. My brother Randy and I rode the train for three days from Portland to Chicago. When we arrived, we went for a walk. It’s what we do. We weren’t the only ones roaming the Chicago streets that day.
Wild Days in San Francisco
My girlfriend and I take our girls’ wild nights out very seriously. We had been on a walking tour of San Francisco (It’s what we do, too.) and were just about to embark on a second tour after we caught our breath. She attracted some homeless wild characters just waiting for handouts.
We were wild women when we flew the coops and we attracted wild-eyed companions who pursued us down the street.
Challenges that Inspired This Post
- LENS ARTIST PHOTO CHALLENGE # 183 MEMORABLE EVENTS hosted by Anne-Christine
- SUNDAY STILLS
- WATER WATER EVERYWHERE
- WHAT’S ON YOUR BOOKSHELF? DONNA, SUE, JO, DEBBIE
What’s your story this week?
Coming Up on Always Write and Elsewhere
- Tuesday: Challenge Host Interview with the four hostesses of What’s on Your Bookshelf. (See links above to each website.
- Wednesday: WQW Announcing my Word of the Year. WOTY, on Wednesday. Then I’ll post it on a link parted hosted by the What’s On Your Bookshelf crew. Here is the Link telling all about it.
- Friday: PPAC we will probably visit Kauai, HI
- Author Interview with Susan Braithwaite, the wife of Photos by Jez sometime in February. I’m sure Jez is a fan of hers! They will be hosting Manny, my traveling bear, sometime soon as well.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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