Much dad~ma, SailAweigh.

I went for a walk at the local botanical gardens this morning.

I volunteer at the local botanical garden and have been so busy with school that I have not been taking advantage and going there outside my (indoors) shift. Today I made myself stay a little extra to be there for sunset. I need to do more of that.

When parking there earlier in the day, intending to study, I saw a small lizard with a bee in its mouth. I stopped and watched. It stayed still, then the bee moved a bit, then the lizard moved a bit, etc. The lizard started using its tail as a lever to hoist its nether regions up and I realized it was eliminating. Not sure whether that was out of fear or a sort of "victory dance". I took about 2 min video of this but eventually needed to get out of the car to start studying. It skittered away as soon as it heard the door latch.

^^^^I write this just as a reminder to myself that I need to take moments like this no matter how under the gun I'm feeling now. I need to watch nature, even urban nature, in an attempt to *be present* in a moment that isn't about humans but the beauty and wonder of the planet as a whole.

Thanks for the exercise reminder, Consuela, it's a good one.

I'm watching a documentary on Liberty of London. I want everything in that store--they have a knitting department! And fabric! If I was rich I would be all over that place.

Dad~ma, Sail.

So we left the house at 10am this morning to test drive the 2012 Accord at a dealership about an hour away. When we got there, we learned that it had just been sold, though they had tried to call me and let me know (unlike the Hyundai dealership) I just never heard the phone ring because we were already on the road. At this point I was 2-for-2 for having cars sold out from under me.

We wandered around the dealership's lot with a salesguy for over an hour and looked at a lot of different vehicles, but nothing was really what we were looking for. (The boy had a lot of fun climbing into the back hatch of the Forrester we were looking at.) We thanked the salesguy for his time and headed back into town and grabbed lunch before driving 30 minutes in the other direction to look at a 2013 Honda Accord that I'd just found online last night (It was only posted sometime this week.) The mileage was higher than I would have liked (75K) but it was in really good shape and the price was comparable to the other Accord.

The wife and I both test drove it and eventually decided to purchase it. Which ended up being a 2+ hour process in itself, though it didn't help that my wife and the finance guy were both very chatty (I married an extrovert. What can I do?) during the process which probably added another 30 minutes to affair.

I finally pulled into the driveway with my "new" car at nearly 6pm. I am completely exhausted. But we have one replacement car done. We need to wait for the insurance payout and my annual bonus at work to figure out what we can afford to buy my wife and then do the whole thing all over again.

And fabric! If I was rich I would be all over that place.

Having been there just last month, I can report that their fabric department is not everything I had hoped it would be. But it's still a gorgeous, fascinating store.

Having been there just last month,

I hope they were properly thrilled with you.

I'm quite surprised that markets haven't fallen since the election. I've seen two suggestions: first, they're betting that whatever Trump said on the campaign trail, he'll wind up governing like a normal Republican. (Not so sure that should be comforting, on past performance, but there it is.) Second, that they're just relieved that the transition of power will be orderly.

As far as I'm concerned, this allows some breathing space to take a more defensive position. Whether or not he winds up jettisoning most of the crap he spewed on the campaign trail, two constants are going to be: he doesn't have the temperament, and he doesn't have the experience. Sooner or later, that's going to tell. At the very least, markets are going to be more volatile than under Obama. I tend to believe they'll also be less profitable.

Some months ago, I shifted my pension fund to a more defensive allocation. I mean, it's tough recommending any investments in the current environment, but in terms of limiting how much one could lose, that might not be such a bad idea right now.

~ma for your dad, Sail.

I just found out that my mom spent 3 days in the hospital this week with bleeding ulcers. She's home now and on the mend but I had to scold my dad for not calling me. This is the first time since she turned 21 that she's missed voting in an election.

health~ma to your dad, Sail.

This afternoon I went out to feed the yet-again pregnant mama cat and found out that Sméagol (the father of my girl cat) had returned! Despite being away for months he was as friendly as ever, and looks to be in good health. It's hilarious, he's a huge 15-16 lb. alley cat and meows like a little kitten.

Much ma for family, aurelia and sail. Adulting sucks.

Billytea, that sounds very sensible. I'm glad I reallocated Dad's accounts last spring, too a much more conservative posture.

Dad ma~~~