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Angus and his wife sold their farm in Scotland in 2004 and moved to warmer climes to escape the cold winters. They tried Provence and Italy, then moved to southwest France in 2009. Then the summers became too warm, so in 2022 it was back to the northeast coast of Scotland to escape the heat.

I remember 60 years ago in Paris seeing all the advertisements in January and February inviting us to visit the Mediterranean to escape the dreary winter. Now apparently tourists are opting to take “coolcacions” in Scotland and the Scandinavian countries.

How things are changing.

July 22, 2026

The Calvin and Hobbes cartoon yesterday,

Calvin and Hobbes

reminded me of a 2007 post, If You’re Working Too Hard, You’re Doing It Wrong!:

If you’re working too hard, you’re doing it wrong! Swimming is a lazy sport.
—A great teacher of swimming…and of life

I can’t remember her name, but I will never forget her. It was my second quarter of swimming at college. At that time we all had to take two quarters of Physical Education, and the first quarter almost turned me against swimming for life. The teacher was looking for perfection and was critical of everything we did. But I had always loved being in the water, thrashing around and calling it swimming. I could be turning blue with cold when I was a kid and would steadfastly deny it. I didn’t get much chance to swim and I was going to make the most of it.

So I signed up for another quarter and hoped for the best. And I got it. This teacher’s aim was to teach us to trust the water. She taught us to float…not in the usual way, lying on our backs…but by walking across the deep end of the pool, our heads safely out of the water. She showed us that if we made gentle arm and leg motions, we could easily reach the other side of the pool. The water, indeed, did hold us up. I can’t remember what we did the rest of the quarter…I do know it was fun and there was no worry about doing the crawl correctly. We could swim anyway that worked for us. The main thing was to enjoy the process. Since then I’ve swum thousands of miles, using my own unique stroke…with my head out of the water and my glasses on.

I’ve been thinking of that a lot the past few weeks. Some self-development blogs have been discussing what a struggle it is to change ourselves. My instinctive reaction is, “If you’re working too hard, you’re doing it wrong!” The first rule of behavior modification is to love and accept yourself the way you are. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things you’d like to change, but if you’re fighting yourself it’s just like swimming. Fighting the water is counterproductive. You’re wasting your energy. Stop thrashing around. Be gentle.

I believe that’s what Max Erhmann was saying when he wrote, “You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.” And like all creatures, you’re always changing. Don’t criticize the bud because it’s still unfolding and not yet a flower. Trust the process. It’s all right to guide your own growth, but do it with love and respect. For me, at least, it’s a sacred process.

What about you? Are you gentle with yourself? Do you give yourself room to grow? Do you honor the process?

July 21, 2026

Calvin and Hobbes en Español

Calvin and Hobbes

Garfield en Español

Garfield

Garfield en Español

Garfield

Garfield en Español

Garfield

Garfield en Español

Garfield

Garfield en Español

Garfield

I’m with Lucy! I hated baseball. 🙂

Peanuts en Español

Peanuts

July 20, 2026

Do you remember the Wednesday thunderstorm I told you about?

It turns out that afternoon there was water gushing into my study from the light fixture on the ceiling. I put a dishpan under the leak, soaked up most of the water from the rug, and told our apartment management.

The next day we heard tromping around on the roof, so presumably they fixed the problem. I’ll keep my eye on it if it rains again, but we are so glad we are living in an apartment and don’t have to worry about maintenance.

July 19, 2026

Angus got his shot Wednesday and wrote,

I’m due at the cottage hospital for my second Shingles shot later this morning. The first one laid me low for a couple of days so ‘The Font’ is preparing for a replay of life with a grumpy ox.

Thursday he wrote,

Normal service will resume tomorrow after a few more restorative naps and the consumption of lots of Paracetamol. ‘The Font’ returns from the morning walk on the beach with the news that both the lady with the Pomeranian and Archie the arthritic labradors owner have had their shingles vax with absolutely zero side effects.

And today he wrote:

The effects of the shingles vaccine have now completely worn off and life has returned to normal. No one has been able to explain to me why this is the only shot I’ve ever had a reaction to.

He talks about all sorts of other things too, of course. The subtitle of his blog is.

A record of those unimportant little things that are too important to be forgotten.

Yes! He knows how to honor and savor life. That’s why I love blogging.

July 18, 2026

No, I’m not talking about the Scandinavian midsummer — a few days from the solstice — that celebrates the days of maximum sunlight. I’m talking about the middle of the meteorological summer (June, July, and August). That summer is 92 days long (30 + 31 +31). So yesterday was the end of the first half, and today is the beginning of the second half of summer.

If I lived way up north I too might celebrate the days of longest sunlight. But down here in the Southwest — where it’s often sunny even in winter — I’m more aware of when the temperature starts dropping at night. I treasure good sleeping weather. And the days are getting shorter.

In fact, this has mostly been a great — but lazy — summer for me. But I’m amused at what different people celebrate, and what they call midsummer.

July 17, 2026

We had an old-fashioned thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. How cool is that!

July 16, 2026

The latest The Economist has an article entitled,

A no-brainer for protecting your brain
One simple vaccination may dramatically reduce the risk of dementia

It refers to a large observational study that showed people who received the old shingles shot had a 20% less chance of developing dementia than those who didn’t get vaccinated. The Economist says

Most of the evidence of its anti-dementia effect relates to an earlier version of the vaccine, which used a weakened form of the live virus. It has since been largely replaced by a new one, Shingrix, which contains just a sprinkling of proteins from the virus and is seen as safer because it cannot cause an infection. Some studies suggest the new jab may be at least as powerful against dementia as the old one. Even so, it would make sense to run randomised trials to learn which is better, the optimal age for getting it and whether boosters are needed.

In the meantime, health authorities should not wait. A full two-dose course of Shingrix costs Britain’s health service £320 ($430) and federal immunisation programmes in America around $270: a bargain, given the potential savings in long-term care costs. As for individuals, even the retail cost (around £460 in Britain) is a small price to reduce by one-fifth the chances of having the world recede in every direction.

The trouble is, of course, that correlation doesn’t mean causation. People who get vaccinated may differ from those who do not in ways that also affect dementia risk.

So the findings are consistent enough to indicate the shingles vaccination may have broader health benefits beyond preventing shingles itself. Andy and I are convinced the shots are worth it even if it wouldn’t help ward off dementia. The complications from shingles (from Perplexity) are:

The main complication from shingles is postherpetic neuralgia: long-lasting nerve pain in the area where the rash appeared. Other possible complications include eye problems and vision loss, bacterial skin infection, hearing problems, muscle weakness, and, rarely, pneumonia or brain inflammation.

We have a friend who is still suffering from nerve pain from shingles, and I had shingles in my left eye even after I had the old vaccine. I didn’t have long-term damage, and I’m convinced the danger to my vision would have been a lot greater if I hadn’t had the shot.

As I remember we had two shots of the new vaccine, about six months apart. I reacted to the first one with a sore, swollen arm and feeling under the weather for a day or so, but it was well worth it. I don’t remember reacting the the second one. What about you? Did you have the shots? If so, did you have a reaction?

July 15, 2026

Ziggy

I definitely have less zip in the summer than I do in the fall, but I’m really enjoying my afternoon naps. That counts too. 🙂

July 14, 2026

In a comment to yesterday’s post, Ginny wrote,

I have to hand it to you; I can’t even draw a stick man. And you have represented joy with just a few strokes!

The truth is I spent months thinking about how to draw this one.

I searched for countless pictures of people weeding and tried to simplify the ones I liked best. I kept playing with it off and on and it gradually evolved.

They say anyone can learn to draw — it just takes patience, practice, and the willingness to keep looking closely. It’s like the old joke,

How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but the light bulb has to really want to change.

I’ve gone through the Klutz book Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered twice, and I believe in its advice:

…you will find yourself frequently unsatisfied with your efforts. Our recommendation? So what. Take a fearless experimental approach. Wield your pen or pencil with spirit and take bold chances. Your successes will shine all the brighter and the rest—nothing but necessary steps to greatness….

Around here we honor mistakes and botched details. Please make many.

The second time I went through the book was in 2022, and I just looked at it again. One of my favorite assignments was to fill in the Chomp-Chomp tree:

This is what I ended up with:

It was inspired by Zoe, of course,

I had forgotten all about it, but it still makes me laugh.

July 13, 2026