One Day at a Time (9 December 2015)

Wonderful getaway with DH.  Dinner at Provenir (Sicilian olives, grilled scallops, duck, pork belly).  Margaritas.  Beach front room with visiting ducks, nesting oystercatchers, a sly family of stoats.

One Day at a Time (8 December 2015)

What I'm reading: Embassytown, by China Mieville

Film watched with DH:  Nothing

Things I got done:

1. Weeded and deadheaded in front porch garden
2. Pruned mock orange in front porch garden
3. Sprayed 10L weedkiller behind house, in back porch garden, on north side of front porch garden, and halfway down the steps
4. Dishes (x2)

How other people helped:

1. Dishes (#2 x1)
2. Vacuumed and dusted (#2)
3. Dinner (DH and #2)

There is no way to reflect the hours spent agonizing over whether I will ever get the Christmas tree up this year, given that it depends on #2 organizing the things she has moved in, then moving the picnic table, then moving the massage chair.  Perhaps I should get a little tabletop tree.

One Day at a Time (7 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• Raising children in the post-9/11 world
• Beautiful video

What I'm reading: Embassytown, by China Mieville

Film watched with DH:  Not a thing

Things I got done:

1. Transported #4 (x2)
2. Watered potted plants and in water tank garden (42L)
3. Dishes (x1)
4. Weeded the water tank gardens
5. Cleaned kitchen sink
6. Laundry (x2)

How other people helped:

1. #2 brought BK from Whangarei

One Day at a Time (6 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• Big surpise.  Killer cop has history of covering up killing by other cop(s).
• Another video of Chicago police killing a young black man has been squashed as city attempts to pay off family for their silence.
• (Probably a white) man taken into custody after hostage situation and shoot-out with police at Wisconsin motorcycle repair shop
• Focus on national polls may be distraction from what's really going on in the states
• How methodology matters in presidential primary polling
• I agree with most of these

What I'm reading: Embassytown, by China Mieville

Film watched with DH:

• Downton Abbey
• The Frankenstein Chronicles (x2)

Things I got done:

1. Watered back porch garden and potted plants (56L)
2. Transported #4 (x2)
3. Weeded and deadheaded in back porch garden
4. Cut down another 20% of growth under jacaranda
5. Dishes (x1)

How other people helped:

1. Took #4 shoe shopping (DH)
2. Transported #4 (x2)

There is no way to reflect the hours spent listening to people talk, today mostly DH with new business ideas.  

One Day at a Time (5 December 2015)

What I'm reading: The Prince of Bagram Prison, by Alex Carr

Film watched with DH:

• The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (x2)
• Quantico

Things I got done:

1. Dishes (x1)
2. Planted jasmine under cedar trees
3. Transported #4 (x3)
4. Transplanted some seedlings, rooted one of the strawberry vines

How other people helped:

1. Dishes
2. Dinner (DH)

There is no way to reflect the hours spent listening to people talk.  More US news streams.

One Day at a Time (4 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• Mass shooting, so I posted this on Facebook 
• Also this
• Then distracted myself with some really cool pictures of a Mount Etna eruption
• Canadian public health gag order?
• http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/acceptance-profound-sounding-bs-linked-lower-intelligence
• http://www.newzealand.com/my/article/worlds-best-northland-ticks-a-lot-of-boxes/?draftmode=true&bust=27900EF7-9C98-FECA-EFD54DFCFD49EB24
• http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2015/12/3/9844480/why-people-believe-bullshit-science
• http://www.vox.com/2015/12/2/9836566/republican-climate-denial-why
• http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/15-tips-keep-your-mind-alert-and-focused
• https://richarddawkins.net/2015/11/fossilized-tropical-forest-found-in-arctic-norway/
• http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/congress-visas-europe-216416

What I'm reading: The Prince of Bagram Prison, by Alex Carr

Film watched with DH:

• The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
• Manhattan
• Modern Family

Things I got done:

1. Dishes (x1)
2. Cleaned toilet
3. Transported #4 (x3)
4. Planted #2's berlotti beans (x3) and sugar snap peas (x5) in water tank garden
5. Watered potted plants, front porch garden, and salad garden (28L)
6. Weeded salad garden
7. Academic interview with #4 and Sir
8. Took #4 to buy more work pants

How other people helped:

1. Dishes
2. DH took #2 to garage for car repair
3. Grocery store (DH)
4. Transported #4 (DH x1)

There is no way to reflect the hours spent listening to people talk.  More US news streams.

One Day at a Time (3 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• The Atlantic, The Geography of Gun Deaths
• US gun fact: 12% of guns used in US mass shootings are obtained illegally
• Wellington vimeo
• This article was my introduction to today's mass shooting in the US, followed by MSNBC live
• Why humans have grandparents
• 4,000,000,000 years of ribosomal evolution
• We've heard talk about "America's reputation abroad", but what about Republicans' reputation abroad?
• Mortality up for white people in the US.  I have a theory: it's stress
• Now I want to watch Racing Extinction
• Gives me an idea for a January TIOLI challenge
• DH and I discussed recently that a Constitutional Convention would result in the break-up of the US.  Someone else has been considering the implications.
• Another what-if-Trump-wins-the-nomination article
• Gender differences related to climate change beliefs

What I'm reading: The Prince of Bagram Prison, by Alex Carr

Film watched with DH: Nothing, again!

Things I got done:

1. Dishes (x2)
2. Weeded water tank garden
3. Watered potted plants (28L)

How other people helped:

1. Dishes (#2 x1)

There is no way to reflect the hours spent listening to people talk.  Yesterday it was DH, today it's US news streams.

One Day at a Time (2 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• I am so cool, researching apps to load for our 7-year-old grandson
• Local news
• This article shared on Facebook by my poor, beautiful, talented, brilliant niece
• This NZ Herald article I shared on Facebook about Northland Santa (ha! ha!  I typed 'Satan first and had to correct it!)
• Pondering a third party run by a "mainstream" Republican to keep Trump from damaging the party if he is the nominee
• Science fun on the eve of war
• Interesting and not really surprising that there are few structural differences, but there is no discussion of neuroendocrinology and its impact on behavior

What I'm reading: The Prince of Bagram Prison, by Alex Carr

Film watched with DH: Nothing, again!

Things I got done:

1. Dishes (x1)
2. Weeded salad garden
3. Repotted 1 cherry tomato and 2 TBI
4. Watered potted plants (42L)
5. Made a list of things to do

How other people helped:

1. #2 found a temporary place for Loki
2. DH picked up fish & chips for dinner

There is no way to reflect the hours spent listening to people talk.

One Day at a Time (1 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• Maurice Sendak, a kindred spirit
• Deep dive into the "wood wide web"
• News from a wannabe dynasty
• Symptoms but no tumor = miracle?
• Does Elf the Shelf normalize privacy restrictions?
• Any article about a longevity drug that references the children of Beren will be clicked
• Opinion piece includes this tidbit: Republicans think the US is in decline; Democrats think its best days are ahead, but I think there's an IF there, if only progressive reforms could take place.
• I always kept from being afraid by expecting the best of people.  This long-read is quite excellent.
• The Kirkus Books Best of 2015 lists are out.  I need to come back to this.
• University of Auckland research presents apple flour, a zero-waste product

What I'm reading: Blackout, by Connie Willis 

Film watched with DH: Wait, what, nothing?  That hasn't happened in a while.

Things I got done:

1. Transport #4 (x1)
2. Fertilized everything (105L from Nitrosol concentrate)
3. Made a grocery list
4. Watched GD
5. Got new cuttings started
6. Laundry (x2)
7. Dinner
8. Called kennel for #2
9. Called vet for #2

How other people helped:

1. Dishes (#2 x2)
2. Cleaned kitchen counters (#2)
3. Grocery store (DH)
4. Library (DH)
5. Bank (DH)